Colombian Contractors Arrive in Nyala to Support RSF via CAR Route in Early May

Colombian fighters boarded a Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 on 1 May 2026 from Casablanca to Bangui via Douala. , after which the men transferred to smaller aircraft heading north toward Birao. From there they crossed into Nyala, South Darfur, to join RSF forces.

Ayin Network obtained a passenger list for the Casablanca-to-Bangui flight that includes at least seven Latin or Colombian names. A source familiar with the operation told Ayin that some of the mercenaries used a small Russian aircraft from Bangui to Birao before continuing toward Sudan.

Human Rights Watch reported that an Abu Dhabi-based company, Global Security Services Group, licensed to work for the Emirati government, hired Colombian mercenaries later deployed to Sudan.

The same report stated that GSSG has links to senior UAE officials and members of the ruling family. One contractor told Human Rights Watch that he arrived in the UAE on a private flight, skipped immigration controls, and was transferred to a UAE military base in Ghiyathi. "They didn't stamp our passports.

We went in and went out and there was a bus waiting for us to take us to a military base," the contractor said. Another contractor told Human Rights Watch that he departed Abu Dhabi from a smaller special airport outside the city. The Colombian fighters were recruited through A4SI, a Colombian agency that targeted retired military personnel seeking overseas security work.

Human Rights Watch stated that at least 300 Colombians had been deployed by August 2024, at a time when the RSF was intensifying its siege on El Fasher. The organization warned that UAE support, including the recruitment and transfer of foreign fighters, could amount to aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the RSF in Sudan.