Source: https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-...-operan-los-mercenarios-colombianos-en-sudan/
Nyala: the rearguard and the new mercenary route
The city of Nyala is the capital of the South Darfur region. There the RSF has its rear guard and its base of operations for the offensive in Al Fasher. Last month, Reuters published satellite images from the intelligence company Maxar showing that between January and February of this year they have built three hangars on the city's airstrip, where large reconnaissance drones have been reported.
The operation of Colombian mercenaries has also been concentrated in this city. It is the key point of grouping of the "Desert Wolves" battalion, both for those who leave because they are wounded or ask to return, and for those who enter. According to the testimony of the former Colombian soldiers, from the end of last year to date, two complete companies have arrived there, around 300 more mercenaries.
"The company, before the media boom broke out in December, had the route through Libya and from there they entered Sudan. But with the disaster that occurred, they are using a new route," says one of the mercenaries who has already returned and who managed to reach Sudan by that route.
The operation of the Colombian mercenaries with the RSF has been concentrated in the cities of Al Fasher and Nyala, in the Darfur region (Sudan). Map: Andrea Montoya.
According to his testimony, the first stop on the route is Madrid, from where they leave for Ethiopia. From there they go to a key port in Somalia called Bosaso, and then leave by plane to N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Finally, the route ends in Nyala, where they land at the airport under the control of the RSF.
"In Nyala we arrived by plane, the flight takes approximately two hours from N'Djamena to Sudan. We already entered with weapons, drones, RPGs, missiles, everything," this former Colombian military officer told La Silla. There, Colombians train RSF troops who operate irregularly and without discipline.
Hector and other members of his company who had asked to return to Colombia also passed through Nyala to make the return route. "We were on the outskirts of Al Fasher. To go to the other city, to Nyala, it takes about three hours. What did we do? We took a big detour, we ate nine hours, where you don't know if the Sudanese Army is going to ambush you," he says.
In Nyala, already without weapons, they boarded a plane to make the return route. Two key steps were marked in his passport that once again point to the influence of the United Arab Emirates in this mercenary operation. It has the stamp of the UAE and on its exit route it has the stamp of Somalia, which specifies its exit through Bosaso.
Stamps from the United Arab Emirates and Somalia on a passport of a former Colombian military officer (dates and numbers have been removed for security reasons). Photo: Private archive.
Bosaso is a port city on the northern tip of Somalia, where the UAE has strengthened its influence in the country in recent years through port infrastructure. The Emirates has also supported Somalia militarily in the region for years, so much so that the Colombian mercenaries who returned report having passed through an Emirati military base in this country.
"In Bosaso it is easier for them than to enter Chad, because they have an alliance with the military base of the United Arab Emirates that they have there in Bosaso," says one of the mercenaries consulted.
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