JOHANNESBURG: South African police said they arrested four men en route to Russia who are suspected of having been recruited to fight in the military there.
The men were stopped at the boarding gate in Johannesburg on Friday, police said, weeks after reports another 17 South African men were stuck in Ukraine after being lured into joining mercenary forces with the promise of lucrative contracts.
It is illegal under South African law for citizens to provide military assistance to foreign governments or participate in foreign armies without authorization.
“The arrests followed a tip-off from (Johannesburg airport police) regarding four males who were en route to Russia,” the elite Hawks police unit said in a statement on Saturday.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that a South African female had allegedly been facilitating the travel and recruitment of these individuals into the Russian Federation military,” it added.
The Hawks said the four suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday on suspicion of contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into how the 17 men ended up fighting in Ukraine, amid ongoing efforts to bring them home.
Police have also said they will investigate Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who was accused by her half-sister of being involved in luring those men to Russia under false pretenses.
Zuma-Sambudla resigned as a member of parliament on Friday, but has not publicly responded to the allegations.
South Africa arrests four men suspected of planning to fight for Russia
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South Africa arrests four men suspected of planning to fight for Russia
- The men were stopped at the boarding gate in Johannesburg on Friday, police said
- The Hawks said the four suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday
US widens travel ban to more than 30 countries, Noem says
- Trump signed proclamation in June banning citizens of 12 countries from entering US, restricting those from seven
- Since returning to office in January, Trump has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, deportations
The US plans to expand the number of countries covered by its travel ban to more than 30, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday.
Noem, in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” was asked to confirm whether the administration of President Donald Trump would be increasing the number of countries on the travel ban list to 32.
“I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” she said.
Trump signed a proclamation in June banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricting those from seven others, saying it was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats. The bans apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, such as tourists, students and business travelers.
Noem did not specify which countries would be added to the list.
“If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?” Noem said.
Reuters previously reported that the Trump administration was considering banning citizens of 36 additional countries from entering the United States, according to an internal State Department cable.
An expansion of the list would mark a further escalation of migration measures the administration has taken since the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week.
Investigators say the shooting was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 through a resettlement program under which Trump administration officials have argued there was insufficient vetting.
Days after the shooting, Trump vowed to “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries,” although he did not identify any by name or define “third-world countries.”
Prior to that, officials from the Department of Homeland Security said Trump had ordered a widespread review of asylum cases approved under the administration of his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden and Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. His administration has frequently highlighted the deportation push, but until now it has put less emphasis on efforts to reshape legal immigration.
