U.S. sanctions network says recruiting Colombian fighters to fight in Sudan’s civil war

The United States has imposed sanctions on a network it says is recruiting former Colombian soldiers and training people to fight in Sudan’s civil war.

Eight entities and individuals, mostly Colombian, have been assisting the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated Tuesday.

Its statement added that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries have traveled to Sudan since 2024, including as infantry soldiers and drone pilots for Doctors Without Borders.

Last year, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said those who “shed young blood for foreign money must be criminally punished”.

The history of soldiers, both retired and active, in foreign conflicts dates back decades to the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in exchange for military aid in the U.S. war against drugs and armed groups in Colombia.

“This resulted in more Colombian soldiers starting to retire after two decades without adequate sources of income,” a retired military officer turned academic told reporters. bbc world.

As a result, “we are seeing more ex-Colombian soldiers on overseas missions,” Alfonso Manzur explained.

Colombian ex-soldiers are often recruited under false promises of low-risk jobs before appearing on the front lines, such as in the current conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in Sudan.

In 2024, Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of citizens being deceived by what it called “sophisticated human trafficking networks” and becoming mercenaries in international conflicts.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC said it aimed to establish a network to recruit fighters for the RSF, which has been fighting Sudanese forces since April 2023.

“Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to target civilians, including infants and young children,” said John Hurley, the U.S. Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“Their brutal behavior deepens the conflict, destabilizes the region and creates conditions for terrorist organizations to grow.”

The State Department said the group and its allied militias attacked civilians, systematically killed men and boys and deliberately targeted and raped women and girls.

Earlier this year, members of Doctors Without Borders were found guilty of genocide, although both the paramilitary group and the military have been repeatedly accused of war crimes.

The transnational network accused of assisting the group consists of four entities and four individuals, including a dual Colombian-Italian national who is a former military officer currently stationed in the United Arab Emirates, a country that has been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons to Forces Without Borders. It denies the accusations.

“All property and interests in property owned or controlled by designated or blocked persons … or U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported,” the Treasury Department said.

The United States accuses a mainly Colombian network of recruiting mercenaries to serve SSF, providing “tactical and technical expertise” and even training children to fight.

According to the statement, Colombian militants were involved in “multiple battles across Sudan,” including the capital Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan and El Fasher.

On the ground, Médecins Sans Frontières has been making progress, most notably Capture the city of Fasher October, after 500 days of starvation siege.

It is estimated that more than 5,000 people have been killed as paramilitary groups rampage through their last stronghold in Darfur.

Kordofan, a state of nearly 8 million people located between Khartoum and Darfur, has recently emerged as the main frontline.

On Monday, at least 114 people were killed, including 63 children. A kindergarten and hospital attacked in South Kordofan statesaid the World Health Organization.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the attack “senseless” and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.

Médecins Sans Frontières also claims control of Hegrig, Sudan’s largest oil field, which the paramilitary group calls a “turning point in the liberation” of the country.