US imposes sanctions aimed at Colombian fighters in Sudan
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A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on five companies and individuals it said were involved in recruiting former Colombian military personnel to fight on behalf of a paramilitary group in Sudan.
"This network has fueled the conflict, which has given rise to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and famines," the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The United States urged the Sudanese government army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to accept a three-month humanitarian truce without conditions, Treasury said.
The brutal three-year war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has created what aid groups say is now the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Hundreds of former Colombia forces have gone to Sudan to support the RSF in both combat and technical roles, fighting in battles around the country, Treasury said.
Those targeted in Friday's sanctions include Fenix Human Resources SAS, a Bogota, Colombia-based employment agency, and its manager, Jose Libardo Quijano Torres; former Colombian Army Colonel Jose Oscar Garcia Batt, the owner of a Bogota-based recruiting company, Global Qowa Al-Basheria SAS and that company's manager, Omar Fernando Garcia Batte.
The sanctions mean all properties and interests of the designated people and companies in the United States are blocked.
An international conference to raise funding commitments for Sudan has produced pledges of more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.77 billion) in humanitarian aid, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday.
With development spending by established donors increasingly squeezed, the conference, which followed earlier meetings in London and Paris, was intended to throw a spotlight back on Sudan. The global focus has recently been diverted towards the longer-running war in Ukraine and the conflict in Iran.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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