Key takeaways
- A leaked UN Panel of Experts report, as reported by the NYT and MEE, names a UAE-linked firm as recruiter of Colombian fighters.
- The report says the Colombians supported the RSF in the siege and capture of el-Fasher; the UAE denies wrongdoing.
- Investigators describe transit and training via the UAE, Bosaso in Somalia, eastern Libya and Chad, according to MEE's account.
- The document remains unpublished while a UAE minister competes in the race for UN Secretary-General.
A confidential report by the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan says a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recruited Colombian fighters who took part in the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) campaign in Darfur. The New York Times reported on the document on Thursday 5 November. Middle East Eye (MEE) published its own account on 6 November, in which it said it obtained the report. MEE describes it as the panel's fourth quarterly update. It says the report went to the UN Security Council last week, is marked "strictly confidential" and will not be made public.
The report names Global Security Services Group (GSSG) as recruiter and facilitator. MEE calls GSSG a UAE-based company with close ties to the government. The Times, as relayed by Addis Standard and Clash Report, says a senior official in the Emirati presidency founded it. The UAE rejects the allegations. A UAE letter inside the leaked report, as quoted by MEE, says the country "rejects any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the Sudan conflict". According to Clash Report, the UAE told the U.N. that GSSG had not deployed mercenaries to Sudan or violated any Emirati law, while Addis Standard attributes the same denial to an Emirati spokesperson speaking to the Times. The report itself has not been published, so everything here rests on press accounts of it.
A route through Libya, Somalia and Chad
MEE, summarising the report, says GSSG moved the Colombians into Sudan through Libya, Somalia and Chad, "where Emirati proxies control large swathes of territory". The report itself says they were "trained and deployed through a network of facilities and transit routes involving the UAE, Somalia, eastern Libya and Chad". The report says the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) base in Bosaso, in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, "has been used as a site of transit and/or training for Colombian mercenaries prior to their deployment to Sudan". The Times says the Colombians were moved through regions of Libya and Somalia controlled by Emirati affiliates, while MEE says RSF supplies crossed Libyan territory held by the Haftar family and its militias.
The recruitment side has a local history. Cali's district ombudsman warned in March about fake UAE "security work" offers that delivered recruits into combat zones, including Sudan.
In Darfur, the report says the Colombians "played a significant role in RSF military operations in Darfur, particularly in the siege and capture of el-Fasher." It says they provided "combat and technical support, including drone operation, artillery and infantry support." The RSF took el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur, in October 2025. MEE says victims and eyewitnesses told it that RSF fighters raped, executed and extorted thousands of civilians. That is MEE's own reporting, not a finding of the leaked report.
Observers are reading: how the contractor, proxy-territory and Council-blocking structure shields the accused state, and what it leaves Somali and Sudanese civilians to absorb.
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A candidate and a confidential file
The leak lands during the race for UN Secretary-General. Abu Dhabi nominated Lana Nusseibeh, a UAE minister of state and its UN ambassador from 2013 to 2024, on 21 October, Al-Monitor reported. Citing PassBlue, it said she received seven encourage, six discourage and two no-opinion votes in Thursday's eighth straw poll. That placed her fourth for a second consecutive poll. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica led with 12 encourage votes. A candidate needs at least nine and no veto from a permanent member.
Nusseibeh told Politico this week that "the atrocities committed by the RSF must be subject to accountability". Sudan's ambassador to the UK, Babiker al-Siddig al-Amin, told MEE: "Those who have the blood of the Sudanese people on their hands should not be leading international institutions."
According to MEE, all five permanent Council members keep significant economic and diplomatic ties with the UAE. Whether they act on findings they hold but have not published remains unanswered.
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