Militants from the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are seen in Khartoum, Sudan. Photo: AFP.
A recent report has revealed that British-made weapons and military equipment are being supplied by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to militants from the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF), amid a civil war in Sudan that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 12 million more.
UK-made target systems and engines for armored vehicles have been discovered on battlefields in the Northeast African country, raising questions about British arms exports and London’s role in fueling the conflict, British daily newspaper The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The report cites two dossiers of documents, which have apparently been seen by the UN Security Council.
The dossiers, dated June 2024 and March 2025, were compiled by the Sudanese military, which says they are “evidence of UAE support” for the RSF.
New material shows that targeting systems manufactured by Wales-based company Militec were discovered at former RSF bases in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and the twin city of Omdurman.
Data shows that the UK has approved licenses for companies like Militec to export training systems to the Emirates since 2015.
The British government issued a new license for such products to the UAE in September 2024, three months after evidence first suggested that the products were being shipped to Sudan, according to the data.
The engines mentioned in the dossier are made specifically for a UAE-manufactured armored personnel carrier. These vehicles have also popped up in Libya and Yemen in violation of UN arms embargos.
The United Nations has issued stark warnings over reports of “atrocities” by the RSF, and rights groups have documented numerous massacres by the militant group.
Just days ago, the RSF seized control of the city of el-Fasher in the North Darfur region. Aid groups reported chaotic scenes there, including killings, arrests, and attacks on hospitals.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the developments represent a “terrible escalation in the conflict” and that “the level of suffering that we are witnessing in Sudan is unbearable.”
The UN Human Rights Office said that RSF militants reportedly carried out atrocities in el-Fasher, including “summary executions” of civilians trying to flee their attacks, “with indications of ethnic motivations for killings.”
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the “risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in el-Fasher is mounting by the day.”
In 2023, a conflict broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, displaced over 12 million people, and led the International Rescue Committee to characterize it as “the largest humanitarian crisis ever documented.”
Khartoum has accused the UAE of backing the RSF in what it calls a genocide against the non-Arab Masalit people in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The Sudanese government demands that the UAE cease its support for the RSF and provide “full reparations,” including compensation for the war’s victims.
Last April, Sudan took legal action against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for creating the “driving force” behind the ongoing “genocide” in Sudan.
(PressTV)
