South American Contractors in the Sudanese Conflict Allegedly Recruited by UK-Registered Firms

Tucked away near the gleaming soccer ground of Tottenham Hotspur in London lies a plain, nondescript apartment building. Behind its ordinary facade lies a dark reality: a small flat connected to deadly atrocities taking place thousands of miles to the south.

Per British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is connected to a transnational network of firms implicated in the large-scale hiring of fighters to combat in the African nation alongside paramilitaries charged of numerous atrocities and genocide.

Scores of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been enlisted to serve with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic killing of civilians.

Colombian mercenaries were key participants in the RSF's seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in recent months, which sparked a killing frenzy that experts believe has claimed at least 60,000 lives.

As reports of atrocities increase, connections have been found between the mercenaries contracted to capture El Fasher and locations in the city of London.

London Flat Linked to Censured Company

The flat in Tottenham is registered to a corporation named Zeuz Global, established by two individuals identified and penalized recently by the US treasury for recruiting contractors to fight for the RSF.

Both individuals – citizens of Colombia in their 50s – are listed in records at Companies House as resident in the United Kingdom.

The firm is operational. The day after the United States announced restrictions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its official location to the centre of central London. Its updated address matches one luxury accommodation in Covent Garden.

The establishments in question said they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had listed their postcodes.

"This is of serious worry that the key individuals the American authorities claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company based from a apartment in north London," stated an expert, a researcher and ex-participant of a United Nations group on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over UK Company Oversight

Experts say the saga highlights concerns over how people openly censured by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to apparently establish and operate a firm in the British capital.

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

When asked about the company, the registry did not comment on whether it had awareness of the company's operations or verify the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Reaching out to Zeuz was fruitless; its website, set up in spring, was marked as "being built" 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 dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer located in the Gulf state.

The US accuses this individual of having a key part in recruiting former Colombian soldiers to be sent to Sudan using a Bogotá-based recruitment firm. His wife was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency.

Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for managing a business accused of handling funds and payroll for the operation employing the Colombian fighters.

"During 2024 and 2025, companies in America linked with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, totalling many millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Firm Establishment and Intensifying Conflict

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

Shortly after, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam camp for displaced people, slaughtering more than 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the site was transferred to the hired fighters, who began preparations for attacking El Fasher.

The sanctioned individuals are named in Companies House records as owning "initial shareholdings" in the firm, with one named as a key controller.

Both list Britain as their "country of residence".

Impact on the War and Wider Issues

The hiring of the South Americans has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the conflict, experts state. These nationals have allegedly trained children to be combatants, as well as serving as marksmen, infantrymen, trainers, and pilots for drones.

These drones proved key in the capture of El Fasher and during fighting in surrounding areas.

"The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with guided weapons and remote aircraft causing daily fatalities," added the analyst. "These systems 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 UK company underlined wider worries over the lack of strict vetting when companies are set up.

"Having a UK company like this is a license for criminals to do deals with respectable entities. It's still more difficult to join a fitness centre in most cases than to set up a UK company," he stated.

Government Response and Continuing Claims

A UK official stated that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for company directors would provide more confidence about who was establishing and controlling UK firms.

The role of the South Americans in Sudan first emerged last year, prompting an expression of regret from the South American nation's government.

One of the mercenaries recently admitted that he had instructed minors in Sudan and fought in El Fasher.

The United Arab Emirates, long accused of arming the RSF, has also been linked to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that Emirati business people providing fighters to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has consistently denied these allegations.

A UK official said: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to violence, the protection of non-combatants, and the removal of obstacles to aid delivery."

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