April 28 (Reuters) – The United Nations on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, younger brother of the head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and three Colombian mercenaries accused of recruiting former Colombian personnel to fight in the country.
A statement from Britain’s mission to the United Nations said the sanctions were imposed by the U.N. Security Council at the proposal of the United States, Britain and France:
• Those designated included Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. It said he led RSF efforts to procure weapons and military equipment.
• Also sanctioned were Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, and Mateo Andres Duque Botero. It said they played a central role in recruiting former Colombian military personnel.
• Video and photographic evidence showed the three Colombians “providing the RSF with tactical and technical expertise, serving as infantry and artillery men, drone pilots, vehicle operators, and instructors, with some even training children to fight in the RSF.”
• In February, Britain, again alongside France and the U.S., secured the sanctioning of four RSF commanders for atrocities committed in RSF’s siege of El Fasher.
• Colombian mercenaries have participated in numerous battles across Sudan, including in the capital, Khartoum, in Omdurman, Kordofan, and El Fasher.
The three-year war between the Sudanese army and RSF has created what aid groups say is now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Earlier in April, the United States imposed sanctions on five companies and individuals it said were involved in recruiting former Colombian military personnel to fight on behalf of the RSF. It said hundreds of former Colombian military personnel had gone to Sudan to support the RSF.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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