🔗 Share this article South American Contractors in the Sudanese Conflict Reportedly Recruited by British-Based Companies Tucked away close to a shiny soccer ground of a Premier League club in London lies a plain, nondescript block of flats. Beyond its unremarkable facade lies a dark secret: a cramped second-floor apartment linked to deadly crimes taking place a vast distance to the south. According to UK government records, this apartment in the capital is connected to a transnational web of firms implicated in the large-scale recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries charged of myriad atrocities and genocide. Hundreds of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for sexual violence, ethnic slaughter, and the widespread murder of women and children. These contractors were directly involved in the RSF's capture of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a wave of violence that experts believe has cost over 60,000 lives. As accounts of violence increase, connections have been identified between the fighters contracted to overrun El Fasher and locations in the city of London. UK Address Linked to Sanctioned Firm The apartment in north London is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two people named and penalized last week by the American authorities for hiring contractors to fight for the RSF. Both individuals – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in documents at the UK company registry as living in the United Kingdom. The company remains active. The following day the US treasury imposed sanctions on those behind the recruitment network, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its registered address to the centre of London. Its new postcode matches one five-star hotel in a central district. Both hotels said they had no link to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the company had used their addresses. "It is of major concern that the primary figures the American authorities states are orchestrating this fighter recruitment have been able to set up a UK company operating from a flat in north London," said an expert, a analyst and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan. Questions Raised Over UK Company 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 apparently set up and run a firm in the UK capital. The UK's top diplomat has condemned the RSF for "organized murder, torture and assault" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with acts of genocide. When asked about Zeuz Global, the registry did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's activities or verify the location of the penalized people. Contacting Zeuz was unsuccessful; its website, created in spring, was marked as "under construction" with lacking information. Network Headed by Former Soldier Per the US treasury, the figure at the centre of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer based in the Gulf state. The US alleges this individual of having a central role in recruiting ex-military personnel to be sent to Sudan using a Colombian employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency. Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for overseeing a company accused of processing money and salaries for the operation hiring the mercenaries. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with this individual conducted many wire transfers, totalling many millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement read. Company Registration and Escalating Violence In April of the current year, the penalized figures set up a company in north London named ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global. Three days later, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering more than 1,500 innocent people. After its seizure, the camp was handed over to Colombian mercenaries, who began preparations for assaulting El Fasher. The sanctioned individuals are named in official UK documents as owning "initial shareholdings" in the firm, with one identified as a person of "significant control". Both describe the UK as their "place of residency". Impact on the Conflict and Wider Issues The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the course of the war, analysts say. These fighters have reportedly trained children to be soldiers, as well as acting as marksmen, infantrymen, instructors, and operators for unmanned aircraft. 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 guided weapons and long-range drones causing regular civilian deaths," said 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 added that the involvement of penalized persons in a London firm underlined broader concerns over the absence of rigorous checks when companies are set up. "Owning a UK company like this is a license for criminals to do business with respectable entities. 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 said that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for company directors would provide more confidence about who was establishing and controlling UK firms. The Colombians’ involvement 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 trained children 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 the contractors. A investigation alleged that UAE nationals providing fighters to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these allegations. A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the safety of civilians, and the lifting of barriers to humanitarian access." They added that the UK had recently imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their part in the atrocities in El Fasher.
Tucked away close to a shiny soccer ground of a Premier League club in London lies a plain, nondescript block of flats. Beyond its unremarkable facade lies a dark secret: a cramped second-floor apartment linked to deadly crimes taking place a vast distance to the south. According to UK government records, this apartment in the capital is connected to a transnational web of firms implicated in the large-scale recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries charged of myriad atrocities and genocide. Hundreds of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for sexual violence, ethnic slaughter, and the widespread murder of women and children. These contractors were directly involved in the RSF's capture of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a wave of violence that experts believe has cost over 60,000 lives. As accounts of violence increase, connections have been identified between the fighters contracted to overrun El Fasher and locations in the city of London. UK Address Linked to Sanctioned Firm The apartment in north London is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two people named and penalized last week by the American authorities for hiring contractors to fight for the RSF. Both individuals – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in documents at the UK company registry as living in the United Kingdom. The company remains active. The following day the US treasury imposed sanctions on those behind the recruitment network, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its registered address to the centre of London. Its new postcode matches one five-star hotel in a central district. Both hotels said they had no link to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the company had used their addresses. "It is of major concern that the primary figures the American authorities states are orchestrating this fighter recruitment have been able to set up a UK company operating from a flat in north London," said an expert, a analyst and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan. Questions Raised Over UK Company 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 apparently set up and run a firm in the UK capital. The UK's top diplomat has condemned the RSF for "organized murder, torture and assault" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with acts of genocide. When asked about Zeuz Global, the registry did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's activities or verify the location of the penalized people. Contacting Zeuz was unsuccessful; its website, created in spring, was marked as "under construction" with lacking information. Network Headed by Former Soldier Per the US treasury, the figure at the centre of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer based in the Gulf state. The US alleges this individual of having a central role in recruiting ex-military personnel to be sent to Sudan using a Colombian employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency. Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for overseeing a company accused of processing money and salaries for the operation hiring the mercenaries. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with this individual conducted many wire transfers, totalling many millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement read. Company Registration and Escalating Violence In April of the current year, the penalized figures set up a company in north London named ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global. Three days later, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering more than 1,500 innocent people. After its seizure, the camp was handed over to Colombian mercenaries, who began preparations for assaulting El Fasher. The sanctioned individuals are named in official UK documents as owning "initial shareholdings" in the firm, with one identified as a person of "significant control". Both describe the UK as their "place of residency". Impact on the Conflict and Wider Issues The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the course of the war, analysts say. These fighters have reportedly trained children to be soldiers, as well as acting as marksmen, infantrymen, instructors, and operators for unmanned aircraft. 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 guided weapons and long-range drones causing regular civilian deaths," said 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 added that the involvement of penalized persons in a London firm underlined broader concerns over the absence of rigorous checks when companies are set up. "Owning a UK company like this is a license for criminals to do business with respectable entities. 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 said that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for company directors would provide more confidence about who was establishing and controlling UK firms. The Colombians’ involvement 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 trained children 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 the contractors. A investigation alleged that UAE nationals providing fighters to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these allegations. A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the safety of civilians, and the lifting of barriers to humanitarian access." They added that the UK had recently imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their part in the atrocities in El Fasher.