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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the UAE. The US authorities said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, American entities linked to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges external actors to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department announced.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.