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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction accused of horrific war crimes such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the contractors have reportedly trained minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The government said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated alleged to have money transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department stated.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "major" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, 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," he advised.