Colombian Contractors in the Sudanese Conflict Reportedly Recruited by British-Based Companies

Situated near a gleaming football stadium of Tottenham Hotspur in London is a squat, unremarkable apartment building. Beyond its unremarkable facade lies a dark secret: a cramped flat connected to murderous atrocities taking place a vast distance to the south.

According to UK government records, this apartment in north London is connected to a transnational web of companies implicated in the mass hiring of fighters to combat in the African nation alongside paramilitaries accused of numerous war crimes and genocide.

Hundreds of Ex- Colombian Military Enlisted

A large number of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been enlisted to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, targeted killings, and the widespread murder of civilians.

Colombian mercenaries were key participants in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a killing frenzy that experts believe has claimed over 60,000 lives.

While reports of atrocities mount, links have been found between the mercenaries contracted to overrun El Fasher and locations in the city of London.

London Flat Connected to Censured Firm

The apartment in Tottenham is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two people identified and sanctioned recently by the US treasury for recruiting contractors to fight for the RSF.

Both figures – citizens of Colombia in their fifties – are listed in documents at Companies House as living in the United Kingdom.

The company is operational. The following day the United States imposed restrictions on those running the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its registered address to the very heart of central London. Its new postcode matches a five-star hotel in Covent Garden.

Both hotels stated they had no connection to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the company had used their postcodes.

"This is of serious worry that the primary figures the US government states are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company based from a flat in the capital," said an expert, a analyst and former member of a UN panel on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over UK Company Checks

Experts argue the situation raises concerns over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "fueling the conflict in Sudan" were able to seemingly establish and operate a firm in the British capital.

The UK's top diplomat has condemned the RSF for "systematic killings, torture and assault" following the faction's seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US with acts of genocide.

When asked about Zeuz Global, Companies House did not respond on whether it had awareness of the firm’s activities or verify the residency status of the penalized people.

Contacting Zeuz was fruitless; its online site, set up in May, was labelled as "under construction" with lacking information.

Network Headed by Retired Officer

According to the US treasury, the man at the centre of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US accuses this individual of playing a central role in recruiting ex-military personnel to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for running the agency.

Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for managing a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the operation employing the Colombian fighters.

"During 2024 and 2025, companies in America linked with this individual engaged in numerous bank transactions, amounting to millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement said.

Company Registration and Escalating Violence

In spring of this year, the sanctioned individuals registered a firm in the UK capital called ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF attacked the Zamzam camp for displaced people, killing more than 1,500 civilians. After its seizure, the camp was transferred to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for assaulting El Fasher.

The penalized people are named in Companies House records as holding "initial shareholdings" in the firm, with one named as a key controller.

The two list Britain as their "country of residence".

Effect on the War and Wider Issues

The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the course of the conflict, experts state. These fighters have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as marksmen, foot soldiers, trainers, and pilots for drones.

These drones proved instrumental in the capture of El Fasher and during fighting in other regions.

"The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with guided weapons and remote aircraft causing regular civilian deaths," said the expert. "These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this external assistance."

He added that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a UK company underlined wider worries over the absence of rigorous checks when firms are established.

"Owning a UK company like this is a passport for bad actors to do deals with respectable entities. It's still more difficult to join a fitness centre in most cases than to set up a UK company," he said.

Official Reaction and Continuing Claims

A government source said that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide greater assurance about who was establishing and running UK firms.

The role of the South Americans in Sudan first came to light last year, prompting an expression of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

One of the mercenaries recently admitted that he had instructed minors in Sudan and seen combat in El Fasher.

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of arming the RSF, has also been linked to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that Emirati business people providing Colombians to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has consistently denied these claims.

A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to atrocities, the protection of non-combatants, and the lifting of barriers to aid delivery."

They noted that the UK had recently sanctioned RSF leaders for their part in the atrocities in El Fasher.