Sudan accuses UAE of funding Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in civil war

Cairo, Aug 5 (AP)Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the military in the country's civil war.

The foreign ministry said in a statement Monday that the Sudanese government has "irrefutable evidence" confirming mercenaries from Colombia and some neighbouring African countries were sponsored and financed by Emirati authorities. The statement didn't share the evidence or name the neighbouring countries.

"This unprecedented phenomenon poses a serious threat to peace and security in the region and across the continent," the foreign ministry said, asserting that hundreds of thousands of mercenaries were hired from across the African continent.

There was no immediate response from the UAE or Colombia.

The civil war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 in Khartoum before spreading across the country following simmering tensions between the RSF and the army. The fighting has killed over 40,000 people, displaced as many as 12 million and pushed many to the brink of famine.

Sudan has long accused the UAE of being involved in the war by supplying the RSF with weapons, but the Gulf country has denied that claim.

In November, an Amnesty International report said armoured vehicles manufactured by the UAE and equipped with French defence systems had been captured by the Sudanese military. A spokesperson for the Emirati government said at the time that the UAE was the "target of a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at undermining our foreign policy, regional role and humanitarian efforts." Sudan's army and the RSF both have been accused of committing atrocities like ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence against civilians, including children.

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