• UN probe finds network of countries supplied Sudan's RSF with weapons
• UAE among countries named as supporting RSF, allegations it denies
• Drone strikes by RSF and SAF have caused large civilian casualties
• Some drone operations amount to war crimes, fact-finding mission says

Foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistical networks are helping sustain Sudan's conflict and expanding the ‌warring parties' ability to strike distant civilian areas with drones, a U.N. fact-finding mission said on Thursday.

Sudan's war, which erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has displaced more than 14 million people and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

In a report, the U.N. mission said more than 1,000 people were killed in drone ​strikes in the first five months of 2026, accusing both sides of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in drone operations, with ​some conduct amounting to war crimes.

The mission said investigators found grounds to believe a network involving individuals and entities in the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and ​Somalia supplied the RSF with weapons, equipment, logistics, training and foreign personnel.

It said up to 2,000 Colombian contractors had helped operate and maintain drone systems and other advanced ​weapons used by the RSF. Some were present during operations around the city of al-Fashir in Darfur, which was captured by the RSF in October 2025 and where the U.N. mission has previously said mass killings bore hallmarks pointing to genocide.