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July 24, 2024 (Nairobi) – A human rights group has called for an arms embargo on Sudan amid concerns that the continued influx of weapons from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Turkey, Serbia, Yemen and China will exacerbate the war in Sudan.
Amnesty International, in a report titled “ New weapons fuel Sudan conflictshows how recently manufactured foreign weapons are being brought into Sudan and surrounding areas, in violation of the arms embargo on Darfur.
Since the conflict in Sudan broke out in mid-April last year, it has killed tens of thousands of people and is currently estimated to have displaced nearly 10 million people.
Amnesty International said that weapons and ammunition recently manufactured or transferred from countries such as China, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have been imported into war-torn Sudan in large quantities, and some have even been transferred to Darfur.
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Senior Regional Human Rights Impact Director, said: “Our research shows that weapons entering the country are falling into the hands of fighters accused of violating international humanitarian and human rights law. We systematically tracked a range of lethal weapons used by Sudan’s warring forces, including pistols, shotguns and rifles.”
He added that “the continued flow of arms into Sudan continues to cause massive civilian death and suffering”.
Amnesty International said it had documented civilian casualties from indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks against civilians, and highlighted violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes by all parties to the conflict.
“It is clear that the current arms embargo, which applies only to Darfur, is totally inadequate and must be renewed and extended to all of Sudan. This is a humanitarian crisis that cannot be ignored. With the threat of famine growing more severe, the world cannot continue to fail Sudanese civilians.”
The human rights group’s revelations were based on analysis of weapons evidence.
It also interviewed 17 regional weapons and Sudan experts to corroborate the data analysis and investigate the weapons supply lines used by the groups.
The group revealed that both sides in the conflict used advanced Chinese-made drone jammers, mortars and anti-material rifles.
However, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly uses a variety of armored personnel carriers recently manufactured by the UAE.
The group called on the United Nations to extend its arms embargo on Sudan.
“The UN Security Council must urgently extend the arms embargo to the rest of Sudan and strengthen its monitoring and verification mechanisms,” Muchena said.
He further added: “The expanded scope must effectively monitor and prevent the international transfer and illegal flow of arms into Sudan and must cover the widest possible range of weapons to combat the massive influx of shotguns, hunting rifles, blank-firing guns and related ammunition into Sudan.”
Both sides in the conflict have been repeatedly accused of war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of populated areas and obstruction of humanitarian aid, while millions of Sudanese are on the brink of starvation.
On 15 April 2024, Amnesty International launched a global campaign urging the UN Security Council to extend the existing arms embargo from Darfur to the rest of Sudan as part of a campaign to advocate for the protection of Sudanese civilians and demand that those who commit atrocities against civilians be held accountable.
(English stone)
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