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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, following an report which disclosed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The Treasury accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a law approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.