UAE Network Accused of Recruiting Mercenaries to Fight Alongside Sudanese Militia

Multiple sources — including human rights reports and field testimonies — have revealed the involvement of senior Emirati officials in managing a vast network for recruiting and deploying Colombian mercenaries who took part in atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, including mass killings, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and the siege of the city of El Fasher.

According to published information, Mohammed Hamdan Al-Zaabi, the executive director of Global Security Services Group (GSSG) — a private Emirati security company founded in 2016 by Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hamiri, Secretary-General of the UAE Presidential Court — oversaw the recruitment, training, and deployment of hundreds of Colombian mercenaries inside Abu Dhabi before sending them to fight alongside the RSF.

Evidence indicates that the mercenaries trained at the company’s facilities participated in documented abuses in North and West Darfur, including mass executions, assaults on civilians, and acts of ethnic cleansing. They also contributed to the siege of El Fasher, which claimed thousands of civilian lives and deepened the humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

According to the sources, Al-Zaabi and Al-Hamiri also operate a network of security and logistics companies accused of providing direct support to the RSF, forming part of a broader system that human rights organizations and UN experts hold responsible for supplying the militia with weapons, fighters, and resources that fuel the ongoing war in Sudan.

Analysts argue that Al-Zaabi, Al-Hamiri, and GSSG meet the criteria for designation under UN Security Council sanctions on Sudan pursuant to Resolution 1591 and its subsequent amendments, given their direct role in threatening peace, security, and stability through support for a force accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

International calls are mounting to expand the scope of sanctions to include all officials and entities involved in this network, as dismantling the external support system has become a necessary condition for ending the war and resolving the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan.