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

Tucked away near a gleaming football stadium of a Premier League club in London lies a plain, nondescript apartment building. Behind its unremarkable facade exists a grim secret: a cramped second-floor apartment connected to deadly atrocities taking place a vast distance to the south.

Per UK government records, this one-bedroom flat in north London is connected to a international network of firms involved in the large-scale hiring of mercenaries to combat in the African nation alongside paramilitaries charged of myriad atrocities and ethnic cleansing.

Scores of Former South American Soldiers Enlisted

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been enlisted to fight with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, targeted killings, and the widespread killing of women and children.

Colombian mercenaries were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ capture of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher in recent months, which sparked a killing frenzy that analysts say has claimed over 60,000 lives.

As reports of violence mount, links have been identified between the fighters hired to overrun El Fasher and addresses in the UK capital.

UK Address Connected to Censured Company

The apartment in north London is listed to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two people identified and sanctioned recently by the US treasury for hiring contractors to fight for the RSF.

Both figures – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in records at Companies House as resident in Britain.

The company remains operational. The following day the US treasury imposed restrictions on those running the recruitment network, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its registered address to the very heart of central London. Its updated address corresponds to a 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 addresses.

"This is of serious worry that the primary figures the US government states are directing this fighter recruitment have been able to set up a UK company operating from a flat in north London," stated Mike Lewis, a analyst and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over British Firm Oversight

Analysts argue the saga highlights questions over how people openly censured by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to apparently establish and operate a company in the British capital.

The UK's top diplomat has censured the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and assault" following the group’s capture of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with genocide.

When questioned about the company, Companies House did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's operations or confirm the location of the penalized people.

Contacting Zeuz was fruitless; its website, set up in May, was marked as "being built" with lacking information.

Network Headed by Former Soldier

Per the American authorities, the figure at the heart of the Colombian recruiting network for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US accuses this individual of playing a central role in recruiting former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based employment agency. His wife was also sanctioned for owning and managing the firm.

Another individual with two citizenships was similarly censured for managing a business accused of handling funds and salaries for the operation hiring the mercenaries.

"In 2024 and 2025, companies in America associated with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, amounting to millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Company Registration and Intensifying Conflict

In April of this year, the penalized figures registered a company in the UK capital named ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering over 1,500 innocent people. After its seizure, the site was handed over to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for assaulting El Fasher.

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

Both list Britain as their "place of residency".

Effect on the War and Wider Issues

The hiring of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the war, experts state. These fighters have reportedly trained children to be combatants, as well as acting as snipers, foot soldiers, instructors, and operators for drones.

These aircraft proved instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during combat in surrounding areas.

"The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with guided weapons and remote aircraft causing regular fatalities," added the analyst. "These weapons require outside assistance to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a significant part of this outside support."

He noted that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a London firm highlighted broader concerns over the absence of rigorous checks when companies are set up.

"Owning a UK company like this is a passport for criminals to do business with respectable entities. It's still harder to join a gym in most cases than to establish a UK company," he stated.

Government Response and Ongoing Allegations

A government source said that the recent introduction of "mandatory identity verification" 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 trained children in Sudan and fought in El Fasher.

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been connected to the recruitment of the contractors. A report alleged that UAE nationals providing fighters to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has consistently denied these allegations.

A UK official commented: "The UK is calling for an immediate end to atrocities, the safety of non-combatants, and the lifting of barriers to humanitarian access."

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