🔗 Share this article South American Mercenaries in Sudan Allegedly Hired by UK-Registered Firms Situated close to the gleaming soccer ground of a Premier League club in London is a plain, nondescript apartment building. Behind its ordinary facade lies a grim secret: a cramped flat connected to deadly atrocities taking place thousands of miles to the south. According to British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in north London is tied to a transnational web of companies involved in the mass hiring of fighters to fight in Sudan alongside militias charged of myriad war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Scores of Former South American Soldiers Recruited Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic murder of women and children. These contractors were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which sparked a wave of violence that analysts say has cost over 60,000 lives. As accounts of violence mount, connections have been identified between the mercenaries hired to overrun El Fasher and addresses in the city of London. London Flat Linked to Censured Firm The flat in Tottenham is registered to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two people named and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for the RSF. Both individuals – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in documents at Companies House as resident in the United Kingdom. The company remains active. The following day the United States announced sanctions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its registered address to the very heart of London. Its new postcode corresponds to one five-star hotel in a central district. The establishments in question stated they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had used their postcodes. "It is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company based from a flat in north London," said an expert, a researcher and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan. Questions Raised Over British Firm Checks Experts say the saga raises concerns over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to seemingly establish and operate a company in the UK capital. The British foreign secretary has censured the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and assault" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US with acts of genocide. When asked about the company, Companies House did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's operations or confirm the residency status of the sanctioned individuals. Reaching out to Zeuz proved fruitless; its online site, set up in spring, was marked as "under construction" with lacking information. Operation Headed by Former Soldier According to the US treasury, the man at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer located in the Gulf state. The US alleges this individual of playing a central role in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for running the agency. Another dual national was also sanctioned for managing a business alleged of handling funds and payroll for the operation employing the Colombian fighters. "During 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, amounting to many millions of US dollars," the official announcement said. Company Registration and Escalating Violence In spring of the current year, the penalized figures set up a firm in north London called ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global. Shortly after, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering over 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the camp was transferred to the hired fighters, who began preparations for assaulting El Fasher. The sanctioned individuals are named in official UK documents as owning "starting shares" in the company, with one named as a person of "significant control". Both list Britain as their "country of residence". Effect on the Conflict and Wider Issues The hiring of the South Americans has had a significant effect on the course of the war, analysts say. These fighters have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as serving as snipers, infantrymen, instructors, and pilots for drones. These drones proved instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during combat in other regions. "The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with precision munitions and long-range drones causing daily civilian deaths," added the expert. "These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the Colombian mercenary operation has been a significant part of this outside support." He noted that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a UK company highlighted wider worries over the lack of strict vetting when companies are set up. "Owning a UK company like this is a license for bad actors to do deals with respectable entities. It's still harder to join a gym in most cases than to establish a UK company," he said. Official Reaction and Ongoing Allegations A government source said that the recent introduction of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide more confidence about who was setting up and running UK companies. The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first emerged last year, prompting an expression of regret from the South American nation's government. One of the fighters recently confirmed that he had instructed minors in Sudan and fought in El Fasher. The United Arab Emirates, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been connected to the hiring of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that UAE nationals providing fighters to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these allegations. A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the lifting of obstacles to aid delivery." They noted that the UK had recently imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their role in the crimes in El Fasher.
Situated close to the gleaming soccer ground of a Premier League club in London is a plain, nondescript apartment building. Behind its ordinary facade lies a grim secret: a cramped flat connected to deadly atrocities taking place thousands of miles to the south. According to British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in north London is tied to a transnational web of companies involved in the mass hiring of fighters to fight in Sudan alongside militias charged of myriad war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Scores of Former South American Soldiers Recruited Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic murder of women and children. These contractors were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which sparked a wave of violence that analysts say has cost over 60,000 lives. As accounts of violence mount, connections have been identified between the mercenaries hired to overrun El Fasher and addresses in the city of London. London Flat Linked to Censured Firm The flat in Tottenham is registered to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two people named and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for the RSF. Both individuals – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in documents at Companies House as resident in the United Kingdom. The company remains active. The following day the United States announced sanctions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its registered address to the very heart of London. Its new postcode corresponds to one five-star hotel in a central district. The establishments in question stated they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had used their postcodes. "It is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company based from a flat in north London," said an expert, a researcher and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan. Questions Raised Over British Firm Checks Experts say the saga raises concerns over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to seemingly establish and operate a company in the UK capital. The British foreign secretary has censured the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and assault" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US with acts of genocide. When asked about the company, Companies House did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's operations or confirm the residency status of the sanctioned individuals. Reaching out to Zeuz proved fruitless; its online site, set up in spring, was marked as "under construction" with lacking information. Operation Headed by Former Soldier According to the US treasury, the man at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer located in the Gulf state. The US alleges this individual of playing a central role in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for running the agency. Another dual national was also sanctioned for managing a business alleged of handling funds and payroll for the operation employing the Colombian fighters. "During 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, amounting to many millions of US dollars," the official announcement said. Company Registration and Escalating Violence In spring of the current year, the penalized figures set up a firm in north London called ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global. Shortly after, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering over 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the camp was transferred to the hired fighters, who began preparations for assaulting El Fasher. The sanctioned individuals are named in official UK documents as owning "starting shares" in the company, with one named as a person of "significant control". Both list Britain as their "country of residence". Effect on the Conflict and Wider Issues The hiring of the South Americans has had a significant effect on the course of the war, analysts say. These fighters have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as serving as snipers, infantrymen, instructors, and pilots for drones. These drones proved instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during combat in other regions. "The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with precision munitions and long-range drones causing daily civilian deaths," added the expert. "These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the Colombian mercenary operation has been a significant part of this outside support." He noted that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a UK company highlighted wider worries over the lack of strict vetting when companies are set up. "Owning a UK company like this is a license for bad actors to do deals with respectable entities. It's still harder to join a gym in most cases than to establish a UK company," he said. Official Reaction and Ongoing Allegations A government source said that the recent introduction of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide more confidence about who was setting up and running UK companies. The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first emerged last year, prompting an expression of regret from the South American nation's government. One of the fighters recently confirmed that he had instructed minors in Sudan and fought in El Fasher. The United Arab Emirates, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been connected to the hiring of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that UAE nationals providing fighters to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these allegations. A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the lifting of obstacles to aid delivery." They noted that the UK had recently imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their role in the crimes in El Fasher.