CAIRO (AP) — The United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries before sending them to fight alongside a notorious paramilitary group in Sudan’s devastating war, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.Its new report is the latest by an international rights group accusing the wealthy Gulf monarchy of financially and militarily aiding the Rapid Support Forces that have been widely accused of committing atrocities amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.The United Arab Emirates denied the latest accusations in response to questions from The Associated Press.
Report adds to a ‘growing body of evidence’“The recruitment of Colombian private military contractors adds to a growing body of evidence that the UAE provides military support to the Rapid Support Forces, which have repeatedly carried out heinous atrocities in Sudan,” said Mausi Segun, executive director of HRW’s Africa Division.Sudan’s war broke out on April 15, 2023, when a power struggle between the military and RSF exploded into fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the sprawling northeastern African country.The RSF was born out of feared Arab Janjaweed militias that were notorious for atrocities in the early 2000s against people identifying as East or Central African in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
