UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told
Exclusive: two dossiers of material seen by the security council raise questions over export of British arms to the UAE, which has been accused of supplying weapons to paramilitary RSF group
Mark Townsend, Telegraph
October 28, 2025
British military equipment has been found on battlefields in Sudan, used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide, according to documents seen by the UN security council.
UK-manufactured small-arms target systems and British-made engines for armoured personnel carriers have been recovered from combat sites in a conflict that has now caused the world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe.
The findings have again prompted scrutiny over Britain’s export of arms to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary RSF in Sudan.
They also raise questions for the UK government and its potential role in fuelling the conflict.
Months after the UN security council first received material alleging that the UAE may have supplied British-made items to the RSF, new data indicates that the British government went on to approve further exports to the Gulf state for military equipment of the same type.
British engines made specifically for a type of UAE-manufactured armoured personnel carrier also appear to have been exported to the Emirates, despite evidence that the vehicles had been used in Libya and Yemen in defiance of UN arms embargos.
The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations it gives military support to the RSF.
Now in its third year, the war between the RSF and Sudan’s military has killed at least 150,000 people, forced more than 12 million to flee their homes and left nearly 25 million facing acute hunger. Both sides are accused of war crimes and the targeting of civilians.
The UK military equipment found in Sudan features in two dossiers of material, dated June 2024 and March 2025, and seen by the security council. Both were compiled by the Sudanese military and claim to present detailed “evidence of UAE support” for the RSF.
Evidence that the UK continued supplying military equipment to the UAE, despite the risk it could end up fuelling Sudan’s ruinous conflict, has prompted deep concern.
UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told | Global development | The Guardian
It should be no surprise since the RSP has set up its corporate offices in UAE to oversee the trade in weapons and raw materials.
Mapping illicit power: The RSF’s corporate network in the UAE
Britain has also admitted in the past to fueling the civil war in Somalia with the weapons reaching Al Shabaab. |
