The US has sanctioned a number of individuals and entities involved in recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, but did not mention widely reported UAE involvement in the supply of these fighters.
On Tuesday, the US Treasury said it was sanctioning four individuals and four entities which formed part of a “transnational network” involved in recruiting former Colombian military personnel.
It said that these Colombians had provided the RSF with “tactical and technical expertise, serving as infantry and artillerymen, drone pilots, vehicle operators, and instructors, with some even training children”.
The fighters have participated in several battles in Sudan, it added, including in Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan and el-Fasher.
In October, the RSF carried out mass killings and abuses as it stormed el-Fasher, some of which were documented by its own fighters and have been corroborated by satellite imagery.
