Full Analysis Summary
Colombian fighters in Sudan
An AFP investigation reported by Al-Jazeera Net found that hundreds of former Colombian soldiers were recruited and flown to Sudan to fight for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in exchange for promises of high pay.
The probe used interviews, corporate records and geolocation of battlefield footage to map a recruitment network from South America to Darfur.
Many of the recruited Colombians were killed, and some survivors have been accused of committing war crimes.
The New Arab reported that Colombians were prized for drone and artillery skills and were paid roughly $2,500–$4,000 a month, far above typical pensions.
Both sources say the United States sanctioned Colombian individuals and companies on Dec. 9 in connection with the transnational network.
Coverage Differences
Tone and emphasis
Both West Asian outlets report the AFP findings and sanctions, but Al-Jazeera foregrounds the AFP investigation methodology and the scale of the recruitment network—'interviews with fighters and families, corporate records and geolocation of battlefield footage'—whereas The New Arab emphasizes the mercenaries' technical role (drones and artillery) and the high pay relative to Colombian pensions. The New Arab also highlights the UAE's denial and that the U.S. did not publicly name the Emirati contractor (GSSG).
Colombian fighters in Sudan
Both sources describe the operational impact of Colombian fighters in Sudan.
Al-Jazeera, via AFP, reports Colombians fought alongside the RSF in some of the fiercest battles in Darfur and that recruits received only short training before deployment.
The New Arab, citing U.S. officials and AFP-verified footage, says Colombian units helped the RSF capture El-Fasher in October and shows them posing with youths holding assault rifles.
Survivors and families interviewed by the outlets report high death rates among recruits and say some returned bodies were not repatriated.
Coverage Differences
Narrative detail and sourcing
Al-Jazeera stresses the investigative methods (interviews, corporate records, geolocation) that trace the recruitment network and the claim Colombians conducted complex operations; The New Arab gives more operational detail linking Colombians to specific battles (El-Fasher) and cites U.S. officials and AFP-verified footage. The New Arab also records family testimony about unrepatriated bodies and short deployment spans. Each outlet attributes operational claims to AFP, U.S. officials, or geolocated footage rather than asserting them as their own independent fact.
RSF recruitment allegations
Both sources link the Colombian recruitment to wider allegations about the RSF's conduct.
Al-Jazeera places the mercenary recruitment in the context of a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced roughly 13 million, and says the RSF is accused of massacres and large-scale displacement.
The New Arab details documented mass killings, abductions and rape linked to RSF advances, cites the overrunning of the Zamzam camp and describes survivors' accounts of ethnic massacres.
These accounts present the Colombian presence as augmenting an RSF force already accused of serious rights violations.
Coverage Differences
Severity and contextual framing
Al-Jazeera frames the recruitment as part of a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe—'tens of thousands' killed and 'roughly 13 million' displaced—emphasising displacement and accusations of massacres. The New Arab foregrounds specific atrocities—'mass killings, abductions and rape'—and gives concrete incidents (Zamzam camp overrun) and casualty estimates from survivors. Both attribute atrocities to the RSF and tie Colombian mercenaries to those operations, but New Arab gives more graphic incident-level detail.
Sanctions and Denials Coverage
The two outlets report on accountability and denial.
Al-Jazeera notes that on Dec. 9 the U.S. sanctioned several Colombian individuals and companies linked to the recruitment network.
Al-Jazeera adds that Colombia's foreign ministry said some citizens had been deceived by human trafficking networks.
The New Arab records that U.S. sanctions named four Colombians and their companies but did not publicly name an Emirati contractor, Global Security Services Group (GSSG).
The report says the UAE denies backing the RSF and called such coverage disinformation.
These differences show varying emphases on who is held to account and which actors, including Gulf contractors, are publicly implicated or denied.
Coverage Differences
Attribution and named actors
Both sources report U.S. sanctions but differ in emphasis: Al-Jazeera focuses on sanctions against Colombian individuals/companies and notes Colombia's statement on deception and human‑trafficking, while The New Arab highlights that the sanctions did not publicly name an Emirati contractor and includes the UAE's denial and rejection as 'disinformation.' Each source reports others' statements (U.S. action, UAE denial) rather than asserting direct proof beyond AFP's verification steps.
Child recruitment claims
Neither source provides clear, verified evidence in these excerpts of systematic child recruitment by Colombian fighters.
The New Arab documents abductions and rape tied to RSF advances, but explicit, verified reporting of child recruitment is absent from both excerpts.
Both outlets include family testimony of suffering, with widows reporting quick deaths after deployment and unrepatriated bodies.
They also allege that foreign mercenaries, Colombians alongside fighters from Eritrea and Chad, carried out more complex operations that heightened RSF capabilities.
Given these limits in the provided text, claims of child recruitment remain unclear and would require additional direct evidence beyond the two articles' excerpts.
Coverage Differences
Missing/ambiguous information
Both West Asian sources document grave abuses tied to RSF operations and the presence of Colombian mercenaries, but neither excerpt clearly substantiates 'child recruitment' by Colombians. The New Arab reports 'abductions and rape' and shows Colombians 'posing with youths holding assault rifles' in AFP‑verified videos, but that imagery and the wording in the snippets fall short of explicit, verified accounts of systematic child recruitment. This ambiguity is stated in the reporting rather than filled with unverified claims.