In October 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the parties to Sudan’s conflict, took over El Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur state, following an 18-month siege that, along with continuous shelling and drone strikes, led to starvation among civilians in and around the city. The RSF unleashed mass killings and other abuses against civilians and hors-de-combat fighters–who were disarmed or injured–and trying to flee. They waited at a trench they had built–three meters deep, along a berm roughly two meters high–to ambush those trying to cross. “We met a group of RSF, and they stopped us,” recalled Amal, a 29-year-old woman:

We had … families with people with special needs, like deaf, and then children [with Down syndrome] … One RSF member called the other and said: “Come and see this mad [person]!” and finally they killed them … And after killing, they arrested some of the women ... And they said: “Kill the ambayat [slaves].”

Amal said those doing the killing were Arab Sudanese, but standing next to them were white people, who she said were shorter than the Sudanese fighters, and, unlike them, wore fatigues and helmets. “They had sniper rifles, … small weapons with silencers. … They were wearing something around their chest, short sleeves, and insignia.”

Evidence collected by Human Rights Watch indicates that, since 2024, an Abu Dhabi-based security company–which is licensed to work for the Emirati government and has links to the ruling family and senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials–has appeared to hire Colombian private military contractors (PMCs) who were deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF. Human Rights Watch believes that the white uniformed fighters described by Amal were most likely Colombian PMCs, who stood by while RSF fighters killed men and women, including people with disabilities.

Report by the Human Rights Watch