French weapons found in Sudan war zone despite arms embargo, says Amnesty

RFI

15 November 2024 at 5:11 am·1-min read

A national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces soldiers in Sudan.

French-made military equipment fitted to armoured vehicles from the United Arab Emirates is reportedly being used by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in violation of a UN arms embargo in the Darfur region.

An investigation by Amnesty’s found that the Galix system, a defence technology designed by Lacroix Defense in partnership with KNDS France, was mounted on Nimr Ajban armoured vehicles.

The rights group on Thursday shared photos of destroyed vehicles fitted with the system.

"Our research shows that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan," Amnesty secretary general Agnes Callamard said.

The technology, used by land forces globally, can be loaded with ammunition such as smoke, decoys or projectiles. More than 5,000 vehicles worldwide are equipped with it, including some in the French army.

Sudan’s civil war grows more brutal as UN details horrific sexual violence

UN arms embargo

Amnesty said the use of Galix in Darfur breaches the UN arms embargo, which has been in place since 2004. The European Union has also imposed an arms embargo on Sudan since 1994.

Amnesty urged France to extend the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan and strengthen export monitoring.

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UN arms embargo

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