Amnesty International has released new findings indicating that advanced Chinese-made weaponry, originally supplied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is being used by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in violation of a United Nations arms embargo on Darfur.
According to the rights group, weapons including GB50A guided bombs and AH-4 155mm howitzers have been observed in video footage and images of recent RSF military activity, particularly in Khartoum and the Darfur region. The footage, Amnesty said, provides compelling evidence of the use of re-exported arms by the paramilitary group.
“These are sophisticated systems, and their deployment on Sudanese soil strongly suggests external supply networks, with the UAE named as a likely source,” said Brian Castner, a researcher with the organization’s crisis team.
The Sudanese government, which has been engaged in a brutal conflict with the RSF since April 2023, severed diplomatic ties with the UAE earlier this week, citing its alleged support to the RSF through arms deliveries. The government accuses Abu Dhabi of prolonging the war by providing strategic military hardware.
Amnesty’s report asserts that the specific howitzers found in RSF-controlled areas were originally procured by the UAE in a 2019 defense deal with China. The manufacturer of the systems is Norinco, a Chinese state-owned defense firm. Citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the report notes that the UAE is the only known importer of AH-4 howitzers.
The use of GB50A guided bombs in Sudan marks their first known deployment in a conflict zone globally, according to Amnesty.
Drone attacks attributed to the RSF have escalated in recent days, with strikes targeting key infrastructure in Port Sudan and Suakin. These include military bases, oil depots, and power stations in the Red Sea region, which remains under army control. The army has accused the RSF of receiving technological and logistical support from abroad.
Despite repeated denials by Emirati officials, reports from UN experts, U.S. lawmakers, and multiple human rights groups have pointed to a growing body of evidence suggesting arms flows from the UAE to the RSF.
Amnesty criticized the UN Security Council for failing to enforce the longstanding arms embargo on Darfur and called for its urgent expansion to cover all of Sudan.
The ongoing war, now entering its third year, has resulted in mass displacement, with more than 13 million Sudanese forced to flee their homes, making it one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.