Sudan Destroys UAE Plane with Colombian Mercenaries
Sudan’s military has claimed responsibility for destroying a UAE plane carrying Colombian mercenaries at Nyala Airport in South Darfur, a site under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to Sudan’s army-aligned state TV, the late-night air strike on Wednesday killed at least 40 people.
The Nyala Airport facility has faced repeated strikes since the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF began open warfare in April 2023. Military sources informed AFP that they “bombed and completely destroyed” the Emirati aircraft during its landing, purportedly transporting foreign fighters and equipment to the RSF.
UAE Denies Involvement
The UAE has strongly rejected the allegations. An Emirati official described the Saboutanese claim about destroying a UAE plane carrying Colombian mercenaries as “false.” Abu Dhabi has consistently denied supplying weapons to the RSF, despite repeated accusations from Sudanese commanders.
Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has long accused the UAE of funneling advanced weapons—including Chinese-made long-range drones—to RSF forces in Darfur. Satellite imagery from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab appears to confirm the presence of such drones at Nyala Airport.
Colombian Mercenaries in the Spotlight
The Sudanese army alleges the destroyed aircraft had departed from a Gulf airbase carrying dozens of Colombian fighters and military hardware. This development intensifies scrutiny on foreign involvement in the Darfur conflict, particularly the reported recruitment of Colombian veterans by Gulf states.
On Monday, Sudan’s army-aligned government accused the UAE of directly funding and deploying Colombian fighters to support RSF operations. It claims to possess documentary evidence of such recruitment. Reports of UAE planes carrying Colombian mercenaries into Darfur have circulated since late 2024 and were confirmed by UN experts.
Colombian Government Responds
Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed his government is working to verify how many nationals died in the air strike. He stated that Colombia will seek to repatriate the remains of its citizens and has renewed calls to ban mercenary activity, describing it as “a trade in men turned into commodities to kill.”
Colombian fighters—often ex-soldiers or former guerrillas—have previously been hired for global conflicts, including UAE-led operations in Yemen.
Humanitarian Impact of the Darfur Conflict
The air strike on the UAE plane carrying Colombians coincides with the dire humanitarian situation in Darfur. The besieged city of El-Fasher, the last Darfur state capital still under army control, faces acute food shortages. The UN’s World Food Programme has warned that thousands are at “risk of starvation.”
An outbreak of cholera in North Darfur has worsened the crisis. Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 13 million, and created the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis.
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