Amnesty International has revealed that advanced Chinese-made weapons, allegedly supplied by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are being used by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in direct violation of a United Nations arms embargo.
In a report released Thursday, Amnesty said its investigation, based on verified videos and photos from conflict zones in Khartoum and Darfur, confirmed the RSF’s use of sophisticated weaponry, including Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers. This marks the first confirmed combat use of the GB50A bomb.
The RSF has been locked in a brutal power struggle with Sudan’s regular army since April 2023, a conflict that has caused tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions, and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Amnesty’s findings point to the UAE as a key supplier of the weapons. The AH-4 howitzers were reportedly purchased by the UAE from China in 2019 and are now in the hands of the RSF. Despite mounting evidence, the UAE has denied providing arms to the paramilitary group. However, similar claims have been made previously by UN experts, U.S. lawmakers, and other international observers.
Brian Castner, Amnesty’s head of crisis research, criticized the UN Security Council for failing to enforce the Darfur arms embargo and called for it to be expanded to cover all of Sudan. “The unchecked flow of weapons is exacerbating the crisis and contributing to mass suffering,” Castner said.
In reaction to the report, Sudan’s government officially cut diplomatic ties with the UAE earlier this week, accusing it of fueling the war by supplying arms to the RSF.
Amnesty also reported that weapons from other countries, including Russia, Turkey, and France, have been identified in the conflict.
Now in its third year, Sudan’s civil war has split the nation along geographic lines. The army, under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, controls the north, east, and central regions, while RSF forces loyal to his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, dominate Darfur and parts of the south.
