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Joint investigation maps four UAE-backed RSF training camps in Libya, with Colombian and Russian personnel on site

Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, Evident, and Sudan War Monitor identified four RSF military bases in eastern Libya, at Seweidiya near al-Kufra, Sabha, al-Jufra, and Camp 17 outside Benghazi, despite prior RSF denials; eight defectors described the network and an RSF spokesman confirmed 'The Emirates gave it to us'

النزاعات·الاقتصاد الخفي· active أموال من·ما لا يقولونه ·4 قراءات · ·تحديث rbtfl 30 يونيو 2026

Summary

A joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, Evident, and Sudan War Monitor, published June 29, identified four RSF military training and logistics camps in eastern Libya, contradicting both RSF denials and LNA claims that operations there had been wound down by late 2025. The camps sit at Seweidiya near the al-Kufra border triangle, Sabha, al-Jufra, and Camp 17, an LNA facility 20 kilometres outside Benghazi. Investigators used satellite imagery, flight-tracking OSINT, and interviews with eight RSF defectors still living in Libya. At Camp 17, the Conflict Insights Group identified at least two Colombian mercenaries; at Jufra, a defector described Russian personnel holding operational command, with Libyan subordinates handling administration. An RSF spokesman, asked about the UAE's role, said: "The Emirates gave it to us." Middle East Eye and Ayin Network co-published accounts from their own regional angles.

The split

Lighthouse Reports and its Western partners frame the findings as a documented covert-logistics network whose scale the UAE has actively hidden from Washington, extending well beyond the Ethiopia air-bridge routes الإمارات تُعيد توجيه جسر الأسلحة الجوي إلى قوات الدعم السريع في السودان عبر إثيوبيا that US lawmakers exposed earlier in June. Middle East Eye adds a structural layer, linking the camps to Khalifa Haftar's LNA and framing the arrangement as an extension of the UAE-Haftar alliance. Ayin Network, writing for Sudanese audiences, focuses on the operational corridor from Kufra airbase into RSF-held Darfur and the humanitarian dimension for civilians in the conflict zone.

By the numbers

  • 4, RSF camps identified in Libya (Seweidiya, Sabha, al-Jufra, Camp 17 outside Benghazi)
  • 8, RSF defectors still living in Libya who described camp operations to investigators
  • 20 km, distance of Camp 17 from Benghazi, located inside an LNA facility
  • 2, Colombian mercenaries positively identified at Camp 17 by Conflict Insights Group
  • Late 2025, date LNA insiders claimed RSF Libya operations had been wound down, contradicted by the investigation
  • June 26, date of related US Treasury sanctions targeting Colombian-fighter recruitment networks tied to the RSF

Why it matters

The investigation documents that the UAE maintained a parallel ground-training and logistics infrastructure in Libya throughout the Sudan war, alongside the Ethiopia air-bridge routes exposed earlier this month. The RSF spokesman's on-record admission removes the attribution gap the UAE had used to deny direct involvement. Russian and Colombian personnel on site extend the foreign-fighter dimension beyond what prior reporting had captured, and Camp 17's location inside an LNA base ties Haftar directly to the supply chain.

What to watch

  • Whether the UAE issues a formal denial or acknowledges the findings after the RSF spokesman's quote.
  • Whether US Treasury and State Department sanctions, which on June 26 targeted Colombian-fighter recruitment networks, expand to cover the Libya camp infrastructure specifically.
  • RSF battlefield activity in Darfur and whether Libyan-based supply lines remain active following publication of the investigation.
  • LNA's response: Haftar's camp hosting is now on record, complicating Western diplomatic engagement with Tripoli.