South American Mercenaries in Sudan Allegedly Hired by UK-Registered Firms

Tucked away close to the gleaming football stadium of a Premier League club in London is a squat, unremarkable apartment building. Behind its unremarkable beige brickwork lies a grim reality: a cramped second-floor apartment linked to deadly atrocities taking place thousands of miles to the south.

According to UK government records, this apartment in the capital is tied to a transnational web of companies involved in the large-scale hiring of fighters to combat in Sudan alongside paramilitaries accused of myriad war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the widespread killing of women and children.

Colombian mercenaries were key participants in the RSF's capture of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a killing frenzy that analysts say has claimed at least 60,000 lives.

While accounts of atrocities increase, connections have been found between the mercenaries hired to capture El Fasher and locations in the UK capital.

London Flat Linked to Sanctioned Firm

The apartment in Tottenham is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, established by two individuals identified and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for recruiting contractors to fight for the RSF.

Both individuals – citizens of Colombia in their fifties – are described in documents at Companies House as living in Britain.

The firm is operational. The following day the United States announced restrictions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its official location to the very heart of London. Its new postcode matches one luxury accommodation in Covent Garden.

Both hotels said they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the firm had listed their addresses.

"It is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company operating from a apartment in north London," stated Mike Lewis, a researcher and former member of a UN panel on Sudan.

Questions Raised Over British Firm Oversight

Experts argue the situation highlights concerns over how individuals openly censured 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 UK's top diplomat has censured the RSF for "organized murder, torture and sexual violence" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with genocide.

When questioned about Zeuz Global, Companies House did not comment on whether it had knowledge of the company's activities or confirm the residency status of the penalized people.

Contacting Zeuz was fruitless; its online site, created in spring, was labelled as "being built" with no contact details.

Operation Led by Retired Officer

According to the US treasury, the man at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US accuses this individual of having a central role in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian employment agency. His wife was also penalized for running the agency.

Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for overseeing a business alleged of handling funds and payroll for the network employing the mercenaries.

"In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with this individual engaged in many bank transactions, amounting to many millions of US dollars," the official announcement read.

Firm Establishment and Intensifying Conflict

In spring of the current year, the penalized figures registered a firm in the UK capital named ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering over 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the site was handed over to the hired fighters, who began planning for attacking El Fasher.

The sanctioned individuals are named in official UK documents as holding "initial shareholdings" in the company, with one named as a person of "significant control".

Both describe the UK as their "country of residence".

Impact on the Conflict and Wider Issues

The hiring of the South Americans has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the conflict, experts state. These fighters have reportedly trained children to be soldiers, as well as acting as marksmen, foot soldiers, trainers, and operators for unmanned aircraft.

These aircraft were 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 remote aircraft causing daily fatalities," added the expert. "These systems require outside assistance to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a significant part of this external assistance."

He added that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a London firm underlined wider worries over the lack of strict vetting when firms are established.

"Having a UK company like this is a license for bad actors to do deals with legitimate counterparts. It's still harder to join a gym in most cases than to set up a UK company," he said.

Official Reaction and Ongoing Allegations

A UK official stated that the new rollout 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 came to light last year, leading to an apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

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

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been linked to the hiring of the contractors. A investigation alleged that Emirati business people supplying Colombians to the RSF were linked to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has consistently denied these claims.

A UK official said: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the protection of non-combatants, and the removal of obstacles to humanitarian access."

They added that the UK had also imposed restrictions on RSF leaders for their role in the atrocities in El Fasher.