Latest news with #AH-4
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UAE denies supplying Sudan paramilitaries with Chinese arms
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied supplying Chinese-made weapons to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is locked in a brutal conflict with Sudan's military government. Salem Aljaberi, the UAE's assistant minister for security and military affairs, said on social media on Friday that the allegations, contained in an Amnesty International report released the previous day, are 'baseless' and 'lack substantiated evidence'. Abu Dhabi has long rejected accusations – stemming from sources including the United Nations, United States, and NGOs – that it is arming the RSF. 'The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is supplying weaponry to any party involved in the ongoing conflict in Sudan,' Aljaberi said in a statement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X. Amnesty said on Thursday that it had verified footage showing RSF fighters using Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers during attacks in Khartoum and Darfur. According to the rights group, the UAE was the only known buyer of the howitzers from China, citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Aljaberi dismissed the conclusion, saying the weapon system 'has been available on the international market for nearly a decade' and was not exclusive to the UAE. He described the report as 'misleading'. Suffering a series of battlefield setbacks in recent weeks, the RSF has intensified its long-range drone attacks on areas controlled by the army. The eastern city of Port Sudan has been a particular target and was hit for a sixth consecutive day on Friday. An army official, speaking to the AFP news agency anonymously, said air defences intercepted 'enemy drones'. Witnesses reported attacks damaging vital infrastructure, including the country's only operational international airport, the largest fuel storage facility, and the main power station. Port Sudan serves as the country's principal aid hub. The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 13 million, creating the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the attacks 'threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the country', according to his spokesperson. Sudan's Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim on Tuesday accused the UAE of violating the country's sovereignty by backing the RSF, and the military government announced it would cut diplomatic relations. In response, Abu Dhabi denied supplying weapons and rejected the legitimacy of Sudan's internationally recognised government. Earlier this week, the International Court of Justice threw out Sudan's lawsuit accusing the UAE of involvement in genocide, saying it does not have jurisdiction over the issues due to the Middle Eastern country's exemption from Article 9 of the Genocide Convention. UAE official Reem Ketait welcomed the ruling, calling it 'clear and decisive'.
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
UAE Denies Amnesty Claim of Arming Sudan's RSF
UAE denies supplying Chinese weapons to Sudan paramilitaries DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates on Friday denied an Amnesty International report accusing it of providing Chinese-made weapons to Sudanese paramilitary forces at war with the regular army. 'The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is supplying weaponry to any party involved in the ongoing conflict in Sudan,' said Salem Aljaberi, the UAE's assistant minister for security and military affairs. 'These claims are baseless and lack substantiated evidence,' he said in a statement posted on the foreign ministry's X account. On Thursday, Amnesty said it identified 'Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers' through analysis of footage of attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Khartoum and Darfur. The London-based human rights group said the UAE was the only country to import howitzers from China, in a deal in 2019. It relied on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute for its report. 'The howitzer referenced in the report is a system manufactured outside the UAE and has been available on the international market for nearly a decade,' Aljaberi said, labelling the Amnesty report as 'misleading'. 'The assertion that only one country has procured or transferred this system is invalid,' he added. Amnesty's report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities in Sudan. Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied arming the RSF, despite reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations. On Tuesday, the army-aligned government severed ties with the UAE, accusing it of supplying the RSF with the advanced weapons systems it has used to strike Port Sudan. The UAE denied the allegation, saying the internationally recognised administration 'does not represent the legitimate government of Sudan'.
Middle East Eye
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
UAE sent Chinese weapons to Sudan despite embargo
The UAE is sending advanced Chinese-made weaponry to Sudan in defiance of an arms embargo, according to a new report. Amnesty International said its investigation found that weaponry made in China had been captured in Khartoum. The organisation said they had identified Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers, the use of which in Sudan Middle East Eye has previously reported on. Amnesty said the guided bombs were manufactured by the Norinco Group - also known as China North Industries Group Corporation Limited - a Chinese state-owned defence corporation, adding it was the first time their use was documented in an active conflict. Amnesty said China should, as a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), block sales to the UAE to prevent the re-export of their weaponry to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary organisation accused of widespread ethnic cleansing, rights abuses and sexual violence in Sudan. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'This is clear evidence that sophisticated Chinese-made guided bombs and howitzers have been used in Sudan opens in a new tab,' said Brian Castner, head of crisis research at Amnesty International. 'This is clear evidence that sophisticated Chinese-made guided bombs and howitzers have been used in Sudan opens in a new tab' - Brian Castner, Amnesty International He said the presence of recently manufactured Chinese bombs in North Darfur was a "clear violation" of the arms embargo by the UAE. "Civilians are being killed and injured because of global inaction, while the UAE continues to flout the embargo," he said, referring to the UN embargo on arms going into Darfur, the western region of Sudan now almost entirely controlled by the RSF. "The UAE must halt its arms transfers to the RSF immediately. "Until they do, all international arms transfers to the UAE must also stop.' 'Genocide' dismissed On Tuesday, Sudan's security and defence council announced it was cutting off diplomatic ties with the UAE over its support for the RSF, a day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed a Sudanese case accusing Abu Dhabi of complicity in genocide. The move came as Port Sudan, Sudan's de facto capital and home of its army-backed government, was hammered by drone strikes that began early on Sunday morning. The RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023, has not yet claimed responsibility for the Port Sudan attacks, while the UAE has strongly condemned them. Sudan cuts ties with UAE as Port Sudan reels from drone strikes Read More » Attacks began early on Sunday morning, when drones struck Sudan's last functioning civilian international airport, destroying parts of its roof and leaving its interior partially damaged. The aircraft, which a Sudanese army spokesperson identified as "kamikaze drones" and which regional military and diplomatic sources said are known to have been previously purchased by the UAE, also attacked the nearby Osman Digna air base. Amnesty said it identified a Chinese-made Norinco GB50A guided aerial bomb as being among the weapons used. The Sudanese government, which is aligned with the SAF, closed the airport on Sunday before opening it again on Monday. A fresh drone attack the next morning prompted its closure once again. The government's civil aviation authority collects millions of dollars a month from overflight fees and planes landing in Port Sudan. The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 12.5 million Sudanese, while the RSF have been accused of ethnic cleansing, mass sexual assault and even genocide. The SAF, the RSF's former allies turned enemies, has also been accused of widespread rights violations. Abdullahi Halakhe, senior advocate for East and Southern Africa at Refugees International, told Middle East Eye last week that the UAE was helping facilitate a "genocide" in Sudan as part of its push to prevent the rise of democratic states in the region. "It crushed the Arab Spring, it crushed the emergence of any viable government in Libya, and its latest iteration of that is Sudan," he said. He added, however, that eventually the UAE would drop the RSF because of the "toxic" image the group had. "A collapsed Sudan is not in their interests either," he said.
