A newly released United Nations investigation reveals that a Libyan militia organization assisted in moving ex-Colombian soldiers across borders to join Sudan’s brutal civil war, according to findings published just days after the conflict’s three-year mark.
The Subul al-Salam Battalion from Libya coordinated the movement of fighters, including former Colombian military personnel, along with weapons and fuel shipments to aid the Rapid Support Forces in their battle against Sudan’s government army, intensifying the already catastrophic war.
This battalion operates under the command of influential General Khalifa Hifter’s self-declared Libyan National Army, which controls eastern and southern regions of war-torn Libya. Based primarily in Kufra, a southern border town adjacent to Sudan, Chad, and Egypt, the group manages key infrastructure including an airport that served as a conduit for arms and fighters supporting the RSF, UN investigators determined.
The UN Panel of Experts on Libya published their findings on Sunday, covering the period from October 2024 through February 2026.
Sudan’s conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, when tensions between the nation’s military leadership and the RSF escalated into violent confrontations throughout Khartoum and across the vast nation.
UN investigators documented various advantages the RSF gained through Libyan connections, including access to a staging area located approximately 75 kilometers southwest of Kufra.
The paramilitary organization also utilized Kufra’s airbase and additional facilities that functioned as transfer hubs for Colombian combatants and locations where imported vehicles underwent modifications, according to the expert panel.
The UN team reported that the battalion actively supported RSF military actions in June 2025 by “deploying units on the ground, providing fighters and escorting them across Libyan territory and facilitating access to fuel and spare vehicle parts.”
This assistance enabled the RSF to push forward in the Uwaynat region, a triangular border zone shared by Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, though it simultaneously “weakened border security in southern Libya,” investigators noted.
RSF representatives did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The Subul al-Salam Battalion could not be reached for statement.
In June, the RSF announced control over the triangle area following the Sudanese military’s declaration that it had withdrawn from the region as part of “its defensive arrangements to repel aggression.” Sudan’s army has blamed Hifter’s forces for supporting the RSF assault on the territory, allegations the Libyan commander has rejected.
International human rights organizations have documented that both Hifter’s military units and the RSF have received backing from the United Arab Emirates, though the UAE has consistently rejected these claims.
Recently, Sudan’s military has attempted to interrupt the RSF supply chain originating from Libya. Government forces conducted air attacks in November targeting vehicle convoys and foreign fighters within Libya who were en route to support the paramilitary group, the report stated.
The United States has implemented sanctions against Colombian companies and individuals due to alleged connections to sending former Colombian officers to fight with the RSF in Sudan, contributing to famine conditions and creating the globe’s most severe humanitarian emergency.
The conflict has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a US-based organization that monitors warfare and acknowledges its casualty count likely underestimates the true toll due to reporting challenges.
