‘War is a business’: the Colombian mercenaries training Sudan’s child fighters to ‘go and get killed’

Footage shared by a Colombian mercenary operating in Sudan shows a soldier with a machine gun. Photograph: The Guardian

For Colombian mercenaries hardened by decades of jungle warfare, Sudan’s conflict seemed slow at first.

“In Sudan, they spend the night sleeping – they don’t even have security because everyone goes to bed,” said Carlos, one of hundreds of Colombians hired to fight in the African country. “Colombians are different – we are used to a different kind of war.”