Fact check: Video of NATO drill in Estonia misrepresented as fighting in Sudan

Sudanese army soldiers celebrate after entering Wad Madani earlier this year.

A video widely shared online claiming to show Colombian mercenaries fighting in Sudan depicts a joint military training exercise in Estonia involving US and allied forces.

The clip circulated on social media with captions accusing the United Arab Emirates of backing foreign fighters in El Fasher, a city controlled by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.

The footage shows soldiers entering a military vehicle and firing mortars, with a voice in English saying, “Ready, fire.”

However, the US Department of Defense’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service published the original video on July 29.

It said the footage was recorded on July 24 near Tapa Camp in Estonia during live-fire training with US, British, Canadian and Estonian troops.

The US Army’s V Corps, headquartered in Poland, noted on August 18 that the exercises ran from July 21 to 25 and included mortar drills to test combat readiness. Uniforms seen in the clip also carried the insignia of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, which took part in the drills.

Sudan announced in early August that it had killed Colombian gunmen in El Fasher and accused the United Arab Emirates of involvement.

On August 16, Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idriss issued a statement in Spanish reviewed by Reuters urging Colombia to end what he called the recruitment and deployment of mercenaries.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded the next day on X, telling Colombians, “Do not die in foreign conflicts.”

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Sudan’s allegations. In a statement to Reuters on August 29, it said it supports peace in Sudan and described the claims as “part of a systematic campaign by what is referred to as the ‘Port Sudan Authority.’”

Neither the Colombian nor Sudanese foreign ministries have responded to the matter.

Verdict: The claim is misleading. The video shows NATO training in Estonia in July, not Colombian fighters in Sudan in August.