UAE-Made Armored Vehicles Captured in Sudan, Raising Concerns Over Arms Embargo Violation
Amnesty International has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of violating a United Nations arms embargo by supplying armored vehicles to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, The Associated Press reports.
The rights group says it has identified UAE-manufactured armored personnel carriers (APCs) in various parts of Sudan, including the Darfur region, where they were used by the RSF in its fight against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The report, released Thursday, states that the presence of the military vehicles on the battlefield “likely constitutes a violation” of the UN embargo imposed on Sudan since 2014. The civil war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 after simmering tensions between the RSF and the SAF escalated into intense fighting, resulting in over 20,000 deaths and millions displaced.
Amnesty identified several Nimr Ajban APCs, reportedly made in the UAE by Edge Group, in images and videos shared on social media. The APCs were equipped with the Galix reactive defense system manufactured by French companies Lacroix Defense and KNDS France.
The Galix system, according to Lacroix, protects vehicles by releasing projectiles, smoke, and decoys to counter approaching threats.
The UAE government has denied the allegations, claiming it is the target of a “coordinated disinformation campaign.” A spokesperson for the Emirati government stated that the UAE has informed the UN Security Council and international partners that it is not providing support or supplies to the RSF or any warring party in Sudan.
However, last month, the United States sanctioned Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, a senior RSF leader and brother of the paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, for his role in supplying weapons throughout the war. Algoney, through his UAE-based company Tradive General Trading LLC, reportedly imported vehicles to Sudan on behalf of the RSF and equipped them with machine guns.
