Africa — 2026-07-30

UN Panel Finds Boeing Aircraft Linked to US Contractor Transported Weapons Drones and Colombian Mercenaries to Sudan RSF

BLUFConvergent panel sourcing will likely preserve into the September 2026 final report formal UN findings naming a US contractor and UAE-linked firms in arms trafficking to Sudan's RSF.

A draft UN Panel of Experts on Sudan report due in September found, citing Nyala eyewitnesses and member-state communications, that Boeing 727s tied to former US Special Forces contractor Steven Shaulis carried RSF fighters, mercenaries, weapons and drones into Darfur 1234. Three of the planes, two bought from Kalitta Charters II and one from Brazil, have flown from N'Djamena's military apron since November 2024 under Contractor Airways, a South African firm jointly owned by Shaulis and business partner Craig Munro, and the panel suspects deliberate efforts to avoid detection 134. The panel separately estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Colombian mercenaries, known as the Desert Wolves, hired by UAE-based Global Security Services Group, based in Nyala since March 2025, backed the RSF's capture of al-Fashir in October 2025 1234. The UAE's UN mission disputed the finding, saying its inquiry found GSSG had no ties to mercenary activity in Sudan 13. Reuters separately tracked Boeing 727s and Ilyushin Il-76 transports making repeated night landings at Nyala between January and July 2026, indicating the network remained active into this year 1.

Analysis
The panel's convergent sourcing, two Nyala eyewitnesses and two member-state communications layered onto Reuters' independently traced satellite and phone-data evidence, will likely survive into the September report without material softening. UAE denials target GSSG's mercenary label rather than the underlying flight and personnel data, leaving the aviation and troop-strength findings largely uncontested into publication. Moderate confidence reflects convergence between independent open-source tracing and panel human sourcing, tempered by reliance on unnamed eyewitnesses and undisclosed member-state channels that limit independent verification.

5 sources