UN Mission Reports Ethiopian Nationals among RSF Foreign Fighters, Urges Addis Abeba to Engage

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has identified Ethiopian nationals among foreign fighters serving with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while urging the Ethiopian government to engage with its investigation into illicit activities linked to the Sudan conflict. In its report titled “Fuelling Sudan’s conflict: weapons, fighters and external support networks,” submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 September 2026, the mission said witnesses reported fighters from Ethiopia, South Sudan and Chad serving primarily in frontline roles with the RSF. The fighters, including women, were reportedly identified in El-Fasher and elsewhere based on language, accent and, in some cases, uniforms. The report, however, does not suggest that the Ethiopian nationals identified as fighting alongside the RSF were recruited, deployed or otherwise involved in the conflict at the direction of the Ethiopian government. Nor does it make a specific finding that the Ethiopian government supplied the RSF with weapons, financing or other forms of military assistance. … According to the report, the mission sent Ethiopia a request for information on 11 June 2026 but received no substantive response. It subsequently listed Ethiopia, alongside Libya, South Sudan and Somalia, among states it considers “non-responsive.” The mission encouraged their governments to engage with it, particularly in light of evidence of illicit activities stemming from their territories documented in the report. (Addis Standard)