Days ago, the RSF militia committed a heinous massacre in Elfashir; thousands were killed in one day, including patients at a hospital, women, and children were lined up and shot to death. Satellite images explain that the militia is preparing a mass burial to hide its crime. This massacre was indeed enabled and sponsored by the UAE, which is relentless in pursuing its economic and political interests in Sudan. Alarmingly, the UAE has been engaged in re-exportation of arms and weapons it officially purchased to the RSF militia, causing massive damage and prolonging the war and suffering of the Sudanese. 

The War broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Support Forces militia, unleashing a humanitarian disaster that has killed thousands and displaced millions from their homes, in addition to a looming famine crisis in different parts of the country. 

The Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, emerged in 2013 as the Sudanese government’s attempt to rebrand the notorious Janjaweed militia. What was presented as a force for counterinsurgency in Darfur and South Kordofan quickly evolved into something far darker. By 2017, the Sudanese parliament had granted the RSF legal status—an act that effectively legitimized brutality. Since then, the group has been accused of committing some of the most heinous human rights abuses in Sudan’s modern history: burning villages, executing civilians, raping women, and silencing journalists. Hospitals, mosques, and schools have not been spared. Behind the bureaucratic façade of “security operations” lies a campaign of terror that has left deep scars on Sudanese society.

In April 2025, an investigative report revealed that the International Golden Group, a UAE company known for transferring arms to areas under international embargoes, purchased Bulgarian ammunition and then supplied it to the RSF militia in Sudan via Libya. This shipment was intercepted by a military group allied with the Sudanese armed forces before reaching its final destination. Chinese drones are also being supplied to the militia through Chad. In some cases, the UAE legally provides Chad with arms such as air defense systems that are later smuggled to Sudan through secret routes. Recently, UK-manufactured military equipment, originally sold to the UAE—such as small arms and targeting systems—has been found on the battlefield in Sudan. A Canadian-owned company was also revealed to have exported 30 armored vehicles from the UAE to the militia. Rifles manufactured by another Canadian company, first sold to the UAE, ended up in the hands of  RSF fighters.

These revelations put other countries, such as Sweden, that sell weapons to the UAE, under public scrutiny, which forced its foreign minister to say that no arms sold to the UAE ended up in Sudan. A claim that indeed needs to be verified by an independent party.  

The flow of arms and weapons has fundamentally altered the dynamics of Sudan’s war. The influx of drones and air defense systems, in particular, has given the militia a deadly edge—allowing it to challenge the national army and prolong a conflict that has already devastated millions of lives. This is not just a question of supply chains; it’s a matter of enabling mass suffering.

By supplying the militia with arms, the UAE is violating several international laws, such as the UN Security Council arms embargo on Darfur, which was extended in September 2025. It also breaches the EU arms embargo on Sudan, which has been active since 1994, and, in the first place, constitutes a breach of the end-use agreements.  

These violations created a lot of outcry and many international rights groups and organizations condemned the UAE army supply, for instance, Amnesty International called for the immediate suspension of all UK arms supply to the UAE. British MPs across parties urged the Government to review arms sales to the UAE, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East ( CJPME) issued a statement requesting Canada to stop all arms exports to the UAE. Moreover, the campaign against the arms trade demanded halting the Western arms exportation to the UAE. 

Parliaments in countries that serve as the main points for the UAE to import weapons must hold their governments accountable and demand decisive action. Civil society—activists, rights groups, and engaged citizens—should intensify pressure and shine a relentless light on this dangerous trade. There can be no peace in Sudan while the UAE continues to fuel the conflict, supplying arms to a militia responsible for unspeakable atrocities.

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