US sanctions, grim numbers in Sudan

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned three individuals and two companies Thursday for recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Officials estimate hundreds of former Colombian soldiers deployed since 2024. (nbcnews.com) Targets include Colombian recruiters Jorge Alexei Ormaza Garzón, his son Alias Bermúdez, and Omar García Ramírez, plus firms International Tactical Force and Terra Nova Security Group. The sanctions freeze U.S. assets and bar American dealings. (home.treasury.gov) Sudan's war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary RSF under Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. Fighting has razed Khartoum and spread nationwide. (cfr.org) The RSF controls much of western Sudan, including Darfur, site of prior genocide. Both sides recruit foreign fighters; RSF draws from Colombia, SAF from other nations. (reuters.com) UN data cited in the sanctions report 59,000 deaths since war's start. About 30 million Sudanese—two-thirds of the population—need humanitarian aid. (un.org) Over 4.2 million children face acute malnutrition risk, per UNICEF. A confirmed famine grips El Fasher, North Darfur's last major SAF-held city, with 1.9 million trapped inside. (unicef.org) The World Food Programme reports El Fasher's siege blocks aid, pushing daily deaths past 500 from starvation and disease. RSF advances threaten total cutoff. (wfp.org) UAE denies RSF support despite mercenary training allegations there. Russia backs SAF via Wagner remnants, complicating peace. (state.gov) Ceasefire talks in Switzerland collapsed last week amid El Fasher clashes. U.S. sanctions aim to choke RSF funding as famine declarations mount. (aljazeera.com)