Sudan urges AU to act against mercenaries, designate RSF as terrorist group
November 6, 2025 (ADDIS ABABA) – A Sudanese diplomat on Thursday called on the African Union (AU) to stand against interventions that threaten peace and security in Africa, citing the participation of mercenaries from several countries in the fighting inside El Fasher, North Darfur.
Sudanese officials reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) used mercenaries from Colombia and used drones to bomb army positions in their bid to control El Fasher, which they seized on October 26.
On Thursday, Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, Al-Zain Ibrahim Hussein, met at the continental bloc’s headquarters in Addis Ababa with the Chief of Staff of the AU Commission Chairperson, Mohamed El Amine Souef, and the AU Envoy to Sudan, Mohamed Belaiche.
Al-Zain Ibrahim Hussein said in a press statement he had informed AU officials that “the occupation of El Fasher would not have happened without the participation of mercenaries from multiple countries, the use of prohibited weapons and strategic drones, and the disruption of satellite communications.”
He called on the AU to take strict positions against the phenomenon of mercenaries and “negative interventions” that threaten peace and security on the continent.
He noted that he provided a detailed explanation of the violations committed by the RSF in the cities of El Fasher and Bara, considering them a “flagrant challenge” to international and national humanitarian law.
He demanded the AU classify the RSF as a terrorist group.
The RSF committed horrific crimes in El Fasher after capturing it, including the mass killing of 2,000 civilians and the execution of 460 patients and wounded inside a hospital, in addition to looting, kidnapping for ransom, arbitrary detention, and sexual violence, according to UN reports.
The RSF took control of Bara on October 25 and carried out retaliatory campaigns against civilians, including killing, humiliation, sexual violence, and displacement.
On October 30, the Ministry of Health announced the killing of 12 medical staff in Bara by RSF gunfire, while the Emergency Lawyers group stated the force’s violations in the area included mass liquidations, arrest campaigns, looting, and vandalism.
Separately, Al-Zain stressed that Sudan’s suspension from the AU is not based on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, explaining that “there was no democratically elected government at the dawn of October 25, 2021.”
He demanded Sudan’s return to its seats in the AU following the formation of a civilian technocratic government led by Kamil Idris, calling it the “basic requirement” of the suspension decision.
The AU suspended Sudan’s membership after the coup carried out by the army and RSF leaders on October 25, 2021, conditioning the lifting of the suspension on the return of civilian rule.
Al-Zain called on the AU to support a “national Sudanese vision” for a political solution, according to a transitional roadmap.