UN report says Libyan armed group helped move Colombian mercenaries and weapons to Sudan

# UN report says Libyan armed group helped move Colombian mercenaries and weapons to Sudan

A United Nations experts' report says an armed group in Libya helped transfer former Colombian military personnel, weapons and fuel across the border to support Sudan's Rapid Support Forces. The findings add another layer to a war already described as the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

According to the AP report in the packet, the Subul al-Salam Battalion facilitated the transfer of recruits, including Colombian mercenaries, into Sudan. The group was part of the self-styled Libyan National Army commanded by Khalifa Hifter and operated in the south and east of Libya, with its activity centered around Kufra.

The report says the battalion's access to key facilities, including an airport, helped move arms and fighters to the RSF. It also identified a rear base southwest of Kufra and said the Sudanese paramilitary force used a Libyan airbase and other facilities as transit points for Colombian fighters and for modifying vehicles imported through Libya.

That support mattered on the battlefield. The UN experts said the battalion helped RSF operations in June 2025 by deploying units on the ground, escorting fighters across Libyan territory and helping provide access to fuel and spare vehicle parts. They said the support helped the RSF advance on the Uwaynat border area.

The report also widens the geopolitical picture. The AP story says both Hifter's forces and the RSF received support from the United Arab Emirates, though the UAE denies the allegations. The Sudanese military has accused Hifter's forces of helping the RSF attack the border zone, a claim Hifter denied.

The conflict itself remains devastating. The war broke out on April 15, 2023, after a struggle between the Sudanese military and the RSF erupted into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere. The AP report says at least 59,000 people have been killed, according to ACLED, though the real toll is likely higher.

That makes the Libya connection more than a side story. It suggests Sudan's war is being fuelled by regional supply lines and mercenary networks that cross borders and bypass formal state control. The result is a conflict that keeps finding new sources of manpower and equipment even as its humanitarian consequences deepen.

The report also notes that the Sudanese military launched airstrikes in November targeting shipments of vehicles and foreign fighters inside Libya that were heading to the paramilitaries. That indicates the supply route had become important enough for Khartoum to attack directly.

The evidence in the packet does not show how the wider international community will respond, but it does show how the conflict's external support systems are operating. A war that began as a domestic power struggle is now sustained by cross-border logistics, mercenaries and political patrons.