Investigation Finds UAE-Linked RSF Training Camps In Libya Near Kufra, Sebha, Al-Jufra, Benghazi

An investigative report described training camps inside Libyan territory used by elements of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as the UAE continued to deny providing any military or financial support to any party in the Sudanese conflict.

“Khartoum (Agence Fides) – Diplomatic crisis between the Sudanese and Ethiopian governments, the latter being accused by Khartoum of having favored the seizure of the border town of Kurmuk by militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N)”

Agenzia Fides

The report, published by the British outlet Middle East Eye and involving Lighthouse Reports, Sudan War Monitor, and Evident, said RSF fighters were receiving training inside Libyan camps on the use of weapons and military equipment, alongside accusations of grave violations in Sudan including genocide.

Agenzia Fides

It identified four main camps believed to be used to train RSF personnel in Al-Suwaydiya near Kufra, Sebha, Al‑Jufra, and Camp 17 near Benghazi, and said logistical support also included supplying fuel, four‑wheel‑drive vehicles, and other military equipment.

A defector known as “Ahmad” told investigators that all weapons and supplies reaching the fighters “were Emirati,” adding, “The UAE is the one supporting the RSF.”

The investigation also said Ahmad witnessed weapons and military vehicles arriving by aircraft and reported seeing an armored vehicle bearing the inscription “Made in the UAE,” even though most ammunition and weapon crates did not bear clear identifying marks.

Noon Post said investigators uncovered RSF fighters receiving training in the use of drones, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers inside a network of secret camps in Libya, based on interviews with defectors from the RSF and officers in the Libyan National Army.

It quoted RSF defector Ahmed describing the trainers at Camp 17 as neither Libyan nor Sudanese, saying, “They were bringing weapons from their country by air here, and from here we received them and transported them to Sudan.”

BBC

The same account described Camp 17 as a logistic support hub where “everything sent to support [the war] is unloaded there,” and said Ahmed spent three months at the camp.

The investigation also tied the training to Colombian mercenaries, and Noon Post said the recruits believed the UAE had recruited them and paid their wages.

In parallel, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Abu Dhabi has neither provided nor is providing any military or financial support to any party involved in the fighting in Sudan.”

Democracy Now! reported that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned another humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in Sudan’s besieged city of El Obeid, where the RSF and the Sudanese army are fighting for control.

“A new investigation has uncovered how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supports a secret network of military training camps for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that enables them to continue their deadly war in Sudan”

Democracy Now!

It said the U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency session last week as fighting intensified between the Sudanese army and the UAE-backed RSF, and it cited Save the Children reporting that “Over 11,000 people, including more than 5,500 children, have been displaced from El Obeid in the last two weeks.”

Democracy Now! also quoted Volker Türk’s concern about atrocities similar to those witnessed in El Fasher after it was seized by the RSF, and it said U.N. fact-finding missions documented summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence in Kordofan.

In the same program, award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Julia Steers said, “We’re talking about a really extensive network of logistics and training and financial backing from the UAE.”

The outlet further stated that U.N. experts urged the international community to prevent widespread atrocities, and it described a U.K. human rights investigator’s testimony that the British government failed to stop a genocidal massacre carried out by the RSF in El Fasher.