U.S. sanctions two firms over allegedly recruiting Colombian mercenaries in Sudan war - BERITAJA

CAIRO — The U.S. imposed sanctions connected 3 group and 2 firms complete allegedly recruiting and deploying Colombian mercenaries to conflict alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces successful Sudan's war, which has entered its 4th year pinch nary extremity successful sight.

The sanctions, announced by the Department of Treasury precocious Friday, were the latest by the United States connected the RSF, which has been astatine warfare against the Sudanese military since April 2023.

The group has been accused by authorities groups of atrocities amounting to warfare crimes and crimes against humanity during the warfare which created the world's largest humanitarian crisis. The RSF was calved retired of feared Arab Janjaweed militias, notorious for atrocities successful the early 2000s against group identifying arsenic East aliases Central African successful Sudan's occidental region of Darfur.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctioned individuals and firms were progressive successful "recruiting and deploying erstwhile Colombian subject unit to Sudan to conflict connected behalf of the RSF."

They see a Bogota, Colombia-based employment agency, Fénix, which was established past twelvemonth arsenic a replacement of different firm, A4SI, that the U.S. sanctioned successful December besides for aiding the RSF.

Both firms were founded by Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, a retired Colombian subject officer, and his wife. They are besides connected a Sudan-related sanctions list, according to the Treasury's statement.

Included successful the latest sanctions were different Bogota-based recruitment agency, GQAB, and 3 individuals: Fénix's head Quijano Torres, GQAB proprietor Jose Garcia Batte, and GQAB's head and ineligible typical Omar Garcia Batte. All are Colombian nationals, the Treasury said.

It said that hundreds of erstwhile Colombian soldiers person been deployed to Sudan since 2024 to assistance the paramilitaries successful the war, "serving successful combat and method roles and participating successful battles crossed the country."

The U.S. has accused the RSF of many times carrying retired "summary executions, ethnically motivated attacks, intersexual and gender-based violence, and torture passim areas nether its control," about precocious successful the Darfur metropolis of el-Fasher.

The State Department said successful December that members of RSF had committed "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and taste cleansing."

The Treasury cited the RSF onslaught connected the Darfur metropolis of el-Fasher successful October, which United Nations-commissioned experts said bore " the hallmarks of genocide. " At slightest 6,000 group were killed successful conscionable 3 days successful that attack, according to the U.N.

The warfare started erstwhile tensions betwixt the subject and RSF exploded into unfastened fighting successful the capital, Khartoum connected April 15, 2023, earlier spreading crossed the northeastern African nation.

The warfare killed astatine slightest 59,000 group complete the people of 3 years, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known arsenic ACLED. The U.S.-based warfare search group, however, said its toll was almost surely an underestimate fixed difficulties successful reporting.

The conflict has created the world's largest humanitarian crisis, pinch about 34 cardinal group — almost 2 retired of each 3 Sudanese — needing assistance, according to the U.N.