Middle East Eye puts the UAE in the headline. The UN's own release says "several countries".

The finding. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan reported on Thursday that a transnational network supplied the Rapid Support Forces with weapons, training, logistics and foreign fighters. It found "reasonable grounds to believe" that entities and recruiters operating from countries "including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates" moved them through Chad, Libya and Somalia.

Where the country goes. All four reports we hold name the UAE. One puts it above the story.

Report	Names the UAE	Casualty figures	Replies from named states
OHCHR	Body, listed with Colombia	Kalogi 114, about 60 children; Ad-Da'ein at least 70	None
UN News	Body, listed with Colombia	None — the only figure is 2,000 Colombian contractors	None
Al Jazeera	Body, listed with Colombia	Kalogi 114; Ad-Da'ein at least 70	UAE, Chad, Somalia, Colombia
Middle East Eye	Headline, then the body	Kalogi 114, about 60 children; 1,000+ killed by drones in five months	UAE

The same report, both ways. Middle East Eye's headline ties UAE-linked networks to "Sudan atrocities". Well below it, the same report is the only one saying investigators "stopped short of attributing the network's conduct to the Emirati state". The other three never raise the question.

Our two blind readings differ. They counted the same: 4 naming it in the body, 1 in a headline, 2 carrying a reply from a named state. One called that placement. The other said the headline "attaches" the UAE to the atrocities, and noted that the two reports drawn from the mission's own release carry no reply from anyone.

What this does not settle. Whether the Emirati state is implicated — the mission did not find that, and no report we hold tests the UAE's denial. Whether 2,000 Colombians were recruited or deployed: three say deployed, one says "may have been recruited". Gulf News, a UAE outlet, filed four Sudan reports this week, including the WFP aid-truck strike. None is this one.

What this is about. A UN inquiry has traced who arms, trains and staffs one side in Sudan's civil war. Several foreign governments deny any part in it.

How it got here. - 2000s: Sudan's government used Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, against rebels in Darfur. In 2004 the UN Security Council put an arms embargo on Darfur. It still covers only that region. - 2013: Those militias were made into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. - 2019–2021: Street protests led to the overthrow of the long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. In 2021 the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Hemedti took power together in a coup. - 15 April 2023: The two men fell out over how the RSF would be folded into the army, and the war began. Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye say it has killed tens of thousands. On displacement they differ: more than 12 million, says Al Jazeera, citing the UN; more than 13 million, says Middle East Eye. - October 2023: The UN Human Rights Council set up the fact-finding mission to gather evidence of abuses. - Late 2025: The RSF took El-Fasher, the last army-held city in Darfur. The mission has said RSF conduct there showed "hallmarks of genocide".

Who is involved, and why. - The Sudanese army (SAF) holds the east and the capital region. The mission says it too uses foreign-supplied drones. - The RSF holds most of Darfur. The mission says a supply chain across several countries is feeding it. - The UAE: Sudan's army-led government accuses it of backing the RSF, and the UAE denies it. In 2025 Sudan took the UAE to the International Court of Justice. The court dismissed the case because it lacked jurisdiction, not on the merits. - Colombia is in it because its former soldiers were recruited to fight. Chad, Libya and Somalia are named as transit routes.

What is at stake. If the Security Council extends the embargo to all of Sudan, weapons sent to either side anywhere in the country would break it. The mission also wants the people who finance and supply the fighting held to account, not only the fighters. That would put companies and officials abroad at risk of prosecution.

Where it stands. The mission's mandate runs to October 2026. Any wider embargo needs a Security Council vote. Middle East Eye reports that rights groups have asked the International Criminal Court to examine the role of foreign actors. Ceasefire efforts have repeatedly failed, and the fighting goes on.

What is being argued about

Whether naming the UAE in a headline reports the finding or goes past it: the mission named it in a list of countries, several paragraphs into its release.
Whether the network reaches the Emirati state. Investigators said they stopped short of that, and one report of four says so.
Whether up to 2,000 Colombians were recruited or deployed. Three reports say deployed, one says they may have been recruited since August 2024.
Why two reports carry no reply from any named state and one carries four, from the UAE, Chad, Somalia and Colombia.

One finding, four reports: where the country goesSide by side

Report	Where the UAE appears	Casualty figures carried	Replies from named states
UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)	Body, in a list with Colombia	Kalogi 114, about 60 children; Ad-Da'ein at least 70	None
UN News	Body, in a list with Colombia	None; the only figure is 2,000 Colombian contractors	None
Al Jazeera English	Body, in a list with Colombia	Kalogi 114; Ad-Da'ein at least 70	UAE, Chad, Somalia, Colombia
Middle East Eye	Headline and sub-heading, then the body	Kalogi 114, about 60 children; Ad-Da'ein at least 70, 146 hurt; 1,000+ killed by drones in five months	UAE

Read from the four reports we hold on the mission's report of 3 September 2026.

Sources

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)

UN News

Al Jazeera English

Middle East Eye

What the mission documentedFacts optional section

Successive RSF drone strikes on the Nabaa al-Hanan kindergarten in Kalogi, South Kordofan on 4 December 2025 killed 114 people, about 60 of them children, and wounded 35. Investigators found no evidence the kindergarten or Kalogi Rural Hospital was used for military purposes. Middle East Eye →
Army strikes on Ad-Da'ein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, on the first day of Eid al-Fitr in March, killed at least 70 people and injured 146, leaving the referral hospital for more than two million people inoperable. Middle East Eye →
The mission documented the deployment of up to 2,000 former Colombian military contractors who operated combat drones, artillery and advanced weapons alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan. UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) →
Supplies moved through Bosaso in Somalia, southeastern Libya and Chad, and included Chinese-made NORINCO AH-4 howitzers, FK-2000 air defence systems and CH-95 drones. Some materiel matched equipment previously exported to the UAE, the mission said. Middle East Eye →
Colombia told investigators it opposes mercenarism. Chad said it remained neutral. Somalia said it took the allegations seriously. The UAE said it had stayed neutral and its own inquiries found no evidence. Al Jazeera English →
The mission asked the Security Council to extend the Darfur arms embargo to the whole of Sudan, and urged Abu Dhabi to investigate companies operating from its territory. UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) →

Sources

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)

Middle East Eye

Al Jazeera English

Claims and verdicts

true The UN report names the United Arab Emirates.

OHCHR's own release names it — private entities, logistics intermediaries and recruiters "operating from countries, including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates" — and UN News and Al Jazeera carry the same sentence. Only the placement differs: Middle East Eye puts the UAE in its headline, the other three name it in the body.

Checked against 4 sources:

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)

UN News

Al Jazeera English

Middle East Eye

unverified The UAE supplied weapons and fighters to the Rapid Support Forces.

Middle East Eye is the only report we hold that says the investigators "stopped short of attributing the network's conduct to the Emirati state", while finding UAE-linked individuals and entities played a "significant role" in recruiting, financing and transporting contractors. The UAE's denial is carried by Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera and tested by neither, and the mission's own standard throughout is "reasonable grounds to believe", not a finding of fact.

Checked against 2 sources:

Middle East Eye

Al Jazeera English

unverified Up to 2,000 former Colombian soldiers were deployed alongside the RSF.

All four reports trace to one source, the mission's report: OHCHR, UN News and Al Jazeera say it documented "the deployment of up to 2,000" contractors who operated drones and artillery, while Middle East Eye says up to 2,000 "may have been recruited since August 2024". Recruited and deployed are different counts, and Colombia told the investigators it opposes mercenarism, per Al Jazeera.

Checked against 4 sources:

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR)

UN News

Al Jazeera English

Middle East Eye

Who wrote it

S Sondos Asem Middle East Eye

What the bias passes found in their reporting

How hard the claim is stated Its own body says the investigators did not attribute the network to the Emirati state — the qualification its headline drops.×1

How hard the claim is stated The body withdraws in one line the attribution its own headline makes×1

How deeply it is sourced Cites its own past reporting as the evidence for the claim in its own headline, and calls the evidence widespread in its own voice×1

How deeply it is sourced Offers its own past reporting as the evidence supporting the claim in its headline, inside the same sentence that carries the denial.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

2 unverified1 true

From 2 reports we hold under this byline, at Middle East Eye. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 3 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

Al Jazeera English — state-funded international

Foreign fighters and external support fuel Sudan’s war: UN-backed probe | Sudan war News | Al Jazeera

The only report carrying replies from Chad, Somalia and Colombia as well as the UAE, and the only one noting that the investigative team "does not speak on behalf of the UN". Gives the Kalogi toll of 114 without the

Investigation says outside support for warring parties strengthens military capabilities, intensifying a humanitarian crisis. Foreign recruitment and external support networks are sustaining and expanding the civil war in Sudan by providing weapons, military technology and fighters, to the detriment of civilians, according to a United Nations-backed investigation. A report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, released on Thursday, said transnational entities operating across several countries recruited, trained and deployed foreign personnel to support the pa

How the victims appear: Carries the Kalogi toll of 114 but drops 'including around 60 children', which the two other reports of the same strike keep. — “Documented drone attacks included RSF strikes in Kalogi, South Kordofan that killed 114 people, and army strikes in Ad-Da’ein, East Darfur, which killed at least 70 people and destroyed a major hospital.”

How hard the claim is stated: The only report that puts distance between the finding and the United Nations, under a headline that calls the same inquiry UN-backed. — “The independent investigative team does not speak on behalf of the UN.”

How the victims appear: Keeps both totals but drops the roughly 60 children that the release it is reporting puts inside the first one — “RSF strikes in Kalogi, South Kordofan that killed 114 people, and army strikes in Ad-Da’ein, East Darfur, which killed at least 70 people and destroyed a major hospital.”

Read it at Al Jazeera English → https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/3/foreign-fighters-and-external-s…

UN News — intergovernmental body

Outside forces fuel Sudan war, new report finds | UN News

Carries the finding and no casualty figure at all; the only number in it is the 2,000 Colombian contractors. Calls the authors "independent UN human rights investigators" rather than naming the mission in its headline.

© UNDP/Giles Clarke People displaced by conflict take shelter at a bus station in Gedaref, Sudan. Foreign recruitment and external support networks are fuelling the brutal conflict in Sudan, independent UN human rights investigators said on Thursday in a new report, calling for accountability as fighting continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This action is strengthening the military capabilities of the warring parties and enabling increasingly sophisticated military operations with devastating consequences for civilians, according to

How the victims appear: Carries no casualty figure anywhere; the harm to civilians is described in adjectives and the only number in the report is the 2,000 contractors — “This action is strengthening the military capabilities of the warring parties and enabling increasingly sophisticated military operations with devastating consequences for civilians”

Read it at UN News → https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168270

Middle East Eye — independent

UAE-linked networks supplying weapons and fighters for Sudan atrocities, UN finds | Middle East Eye

The only report naming the UAE in its headline and tying it to "Sudan atrocities" — and the only one that says investigators "stopped short of attributing the network's conduct to the Emirati state". Alone in carrying

Foreign weapons, military technology and mercenaries are sustaining Sudan’s war and enabling attacks that may amount to war crimes, a United Nations investigation has found. A report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan made public on Thursday found “reasonable grounds to believe” that a transnational network supplied the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with weapons, logistical assistance, training and foreign personnel. The network included companies, intermediaries and individuals operating in or through the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Chad, Libya a

How hard the claim is stated: Its own body says the investigators did not attribute the network to the Emirati state — the qualification its headline drops. — “The investigators stopped short of attributing the network’s conduct to the Emirati state.”

How deeply it is sourced: Offers its own past reporting as the evidence supporting the claim in its headline, inside the same sentence that carries the denial. — “Though it denies the accusation, there is widespread evidence, including extensive reporting by Middle East Eye, linking the UAE with the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF.”

How hard the claim is stated: The body withdraws in one line the attribution its own headline makes — “The investigators stopped short of attributing the network’s conduct to the Emirati state.”

How deeply it is sourced: Cites its own past reporting as the evidence for the claim in its own headline, and calls the evidence widespread in its own voice — “Though it denies the accusation, there is widespread evidence, including extensive reporting by Middle East Eye, linking the UAE with the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF.”

Who is named as acting: The only report that puts one state in the headline. The finding it reports names companies and individuals in five countries and holds no state responsible. — “UAE-linked networks supplying weapons and fighters for Sudan atrocities, UN finds”

Who is named as acting: Names the state in the headline and ties it directly to the atrocities — “UAE-linked networks supplying weapons and fighters for Sudan atrocities, UN finds”

Read it at Middle East Eye → https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/foreign-weapons-and-mercenaries-fuel…

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) — intergovernmental body

Sudan: External support networks are fuelling conflict and civilian harm, UN Fact-Finding Mission warns

The mission's own release: "transnational entities operating across several countries", with the UAE named lower down alongside Colombia. The only report carrying the mission's call on the Security Council to extend the

GENEVA – Foreign recruitment and external support networks are fuelling the war in Sudan, strengthening the military capabilities of the country’s warring parties and enabling increasingly sophisticated military operations with devastating consequences for civilians, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in a new report today. The report, “Fuelling Sudan's conflict: weapons, fighters and external support networks,” documents how transnational entities operating across several countries have recruited, trained and deployed foreign personnel to support the Rapi

Who is named as acting: The document the other three are reporting names no country in its summary, only 'transnational entities'; it names the UAE and Colombia six paragraphs down. — “transnational entities operating across several countries have recruited, trained and deployed foreign personnel to support the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)”

Who is named as acting: Names the same state seven paragraphs down while its headline and opening summary say only 'several countries' — “private entities, logistics intermediaries, and recruiters operating from countries, including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates”

Read it at UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) → https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/09/sudan-external-support-…

We could not read these

International Court of Justice

International Criminal Court

These are must-cite outlets for this desk that we did not manage to read when we built this story. That is a gap in our reach, not a silence on their part, and it is not evidence of anything about this story.

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Middle East Eye puts the UAE in the headline. The UN's own release says "several countries".

What is being argued about

One country named in a headline, four in the text

The same 114, one report without the children

Claims and verdicts

Who wrote it

Coverage, outlet by outlet