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The Washington has levied restrictions on a group of several persons and entities alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, after an investigation which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the UAE. The government said he had a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Recently, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

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

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "very significant" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.