Sudan’s prime minister on Saturday made a direct appeal in Spanish to the people of Colombia, urging them to stop the recruitment of mercenaries to fight alongside paramilitary forces in the country’s war-torn Darfur region.

The appeal by Prime Minister Kamil Idris follows the emergence last week of videos that appeared to show Colombian fighters participating in battles for El Fasher, North Darfur, alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan’s army has also released footage this month showing foreigners killed in the fighting.

“I call on the Colombian people and all Spanish-speaking communities to stop the recruitment and sending of mercenaries to Darfur,” Idris said in the broadcast speech, adding that he was making the appeal “in a spirit of creativity, solidarity, and commitment to peace.”

Colombia’s government officially apologised to Sudan last December for the participation of its citizens as mercenaries. Earlier this month, Colombia’s president also called for an end to the practice.

The RSF has allegedly given the Zamzam camp near El Fasher, which it captured in April, to the Colombian mercenaries to use as a military base for its ongoing siege of the city, according to reports.

The Colombian newspaper La Silla Vacía reported this month that Colombian mercenaries were recruiting and training children in guerrilla warfare tactics in Nyala, South Darfur, on behalf of the RSF.

The newspaper reported that the recruitment operation was led by retired Colonel Álvaro Quijano in partnership with the UAE-owned firm, Global Security Services Group.

Sudan’s government accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF and financing the recruitment of mercenaries. Port Sudan has severed diplomatic ties with the UAE and designated it a hostile state over its alleged continued support for the RSF.