British-made weapons and engines recovered from RSF battlefields raise concerns over UK arms exports to UAE.
British military equipment has been discovered in Sudan’s war zones, used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a paramilitary group accused of genocide — according to documents presented to the UN Security Council. The recovered items include UK-made small-arms target systems and engines for armored vehicles, raising questions about Britain’s arms exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been accused of supplying weapons to the RSF.
The two dossiers, dated June 2024 and March 2025, reportedly contain evidence compiled by the Sudanese military linking British-made components to RSF operations in Khartoum and Omdurman. These findings have intensified scrutiny of the UK’s decision to continue issuing export licenses to the UAE, despite growing evidence of diversion risks.
Researcher Mike Lewis, a former member of the UN panel on Sudan, said the UK government is legally obliged to block arms exports when there is a clear risk of misuse. “Even before this information, these licences should not have been issued,” he said.
The war between Sudan’s army and the RSF has entered its third year, killing over 150,000 people and displacing more than 12 million. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, with Darfur experiencing some of the worst atrocities.
Images in the UN dossiers show British-made Militec target systems and Cummins engines installed in Nimr armored personnel carriers, manufactured in the UAE. The engines were marked “Made in Great Britain” and appear to have been produced in 2016.
The UK government defended its export oversight, stating that all licences are assessed on a case-by-case basis under strict regulations. However, rights groups and Sudanese diaspora organizations have called for a full investigation into how British military technology ended up in the hands of a group accused of atrocities.