A UN fact-finding mission has found grounds to believe that transnational networks supplied the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan with weapons, military equipment, training, logistics and foreign personnel, adding new detail to the outside support sustaining a war that has killed at least 59,000 people and displaced more than 14 million.
Its report, released on Thursday, September 3, 2026, also accused both the RSF and Sudan’s military of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in drone operations. The mission said some conduct amounted to war crimes.
Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between the military and the RSF. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said its first comprehensive report documented support networks involving individuals and entities in the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and Somalia.
The mission said private entities, logistical facilitators and recruiters operating from countries including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates used transit points in Chad, southeastern Libya and the Somalian city of Bosaso. These routes facilitated the delivery of personnel, training, weapons and logistical supplies to the RSF in Sudan.
Individuals and entities operating from, registered in, or linked to the United Arab Emirates played a significant role in networks that recruited, financed, transported and deployed foreign military contractors, the investigators said. They also provided military-related support benefiting the RSF. The UAE has routinely denied accusations that it has backed the RSF militarily.
The report documented the deployment of up to 2,000 former Colombian military contractors alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan. The mission said the contractors were directly involved in operating combat drones, artillery and other advanced weapons. Up to 2,000 Colombian contractors also helped operate and maintain drone systems and other advanced weapons used by the RSF.
Colombian contractors were present during operations around the city of al-Fashir in Darfur, according to the mission. The RSF captured al-Fashir in October 2025. The mission had previously said that mass killings in the city bore hallmarks pointing to genocide.
An Associated Press investigation in July showed that Colombian mercenaries had trained children to fight for the RSF.
Foreign suppliers have substantially enhanced the drone capabilities of both the RSF and the Sudanese army, the mission said. Foreign-supplied drones expanded the army’s drone capabilities, allowing both sides to strike far beyond front lines. More than 1,000 people were killed in drone strikes in the first five months of 2026.
The investigators called on the UN Security Council to extend its arms embargo on Sudan. A draft of the US resolution deplores the continuous influx of external military assistance, weapons and ammunition to the warring parties, saying it is prolonging the conflict and undermining mediation efforts.
The report provides documented findings on the role of foreign personnel, commercial entities and transit routes in a conflict that has produced one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Whether the Security Council will act on the mission’s recommendation, and the full extent of war crimes beyond drone operations, remain unknown.
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