A confidential United Nations report says an Abu Dhabi-based security company recruited and deployed hundreds of former Colombian soldiers to fight alongside Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), The New York Times reported on 5 November.

Submitted to the UN Security Council in early November, the report identifies Global Security Services Group (GSSG) as the principal recruiter and facilitator of the fighters. The company is described as having close links to senior figures in the UAE leadership, and was founded by a senior official in the UAE Presidential Court.

The 'Desert Wolves' battalion

According to the report, GSSG organised the Colombians into a battalion known as the "Desert Wolves", or "Lobos del Desierto". The fighters reportedly served as infantry and artillery, operated drones and trained RSF combatants. They moved through Bosaso in Somalia and eastern Libya, through territory held by forces aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar, after training at two UAE facilities, earlier UN investigations say.

Estimates range from several hundred to about 2,000 contractors. A July 2026 report by UN investigators said Colombian mercenaries set up a base in Nyala in March 2025 and took part in operations around El Fasher, the North Darfur capital, which fell in October 2025 after a siege lasting more than 500 days.

Denials and a UN leadership bid

Human Rights Watch documented the same network in a report on 25 May, saying GSSG hired hundreds of former Colombian soldiers from 2024 onwards through a Colombia-based agency, A4SI.

The disclosures come as the UAE campaigns for its diplomat Lana Nusseibeh to become the next UN secretary-general, after nominating her on 21 October to succeed António Guterres. The UAE denies providing military assistance to either side in Sudan's war and says GSSG deployed no mercenaries and its involvement is humanitarian.