Latest news with #Sudanese-Ukrainian
The Print
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Pakistan signs $1.5 billion deal to sell lethal combat weapons to Sudan's junta
Islamabad's planned arms sales will draw it into a toxic competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a maze of Western sanctions designed to end the civil war. The deal was signed during a visit to Islamabad by 'Pilot' El Tahir Mohamed El Awad El Amin, the head of the SAF's air force, during which he reportedly held talks with Pakistan's defence minister, air force chief, and other senior military figures. New Delhi: Pakistan has signed an agreement to supply $1.5 billion worth of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the internationally sanctioned military junta fighting to control the war-torn north-east African country. The deal, believed to be paid for by a third nation, will give the regime of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan access to light attack aircraft, engines, armoured fighting vehicles and a range of unmanned aerial vehicles. According to Swiss government sanctions, El Amin was responsible for the indiscriminate aerial bombing carried out by the air force of the SAF in densely populated residential areas, notably in Khartoum, Omdurman, Nyala (South Darfur) and North Kordofan, documented by the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan. The indiscriminate air strikes, the sanctions documents reveal, caused the 'destruction of critical infrastructures, including medical facilities such as the East Nile Hospital in Khartoum in May 2023 and the Babiker Nahar Paediatric Hospital in El-Fasher in May 2024'. Earlier this year, the United States Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the head of the SAF, Al-Burhan, holding that he had command responsibility for 'lethal attacks on civilians, including airstrikes against protected infrastructure including schools, markets, and hospitals'. The SAF is also held responsible for the routine and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a war tactic. The Treasury Department had also indicted Ahmed Abdalla, a Sudanese-Ukrainian dual national, for routing Iranian-made UAVs through Azerbaijan to the SAF through his Hong Kong based firm, Portex. An arms embargo and asset freeze is also in place against both sides, enforced by the UN Security Council. However, both sides have continued to receive supplies of arms through third countries, while the Rapid Support Forces is alleged to have been using mercenaries recruited on its behalf by the UAE from Colombia. Fuelled by competition between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the conflict in Sudan, which began in 2023, has claimed more than 70,000 lives, and left several hundred thousand people on the edge of starvation. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has backed the SAF, hoping to shut out Iran, and also bring stability to the Red Sea, where instability directly threatens key projects, like the city of Neom, and Yanbu Terminal expansion, which aims to diversify oil export routes away from the Strait of Hormuz, expert Elfadil Ibrahim explains. For its part, the UAE seeks to block jihadist groups, who were overthrown in 2019, from riding on the SAF's back to retake power. The Pakistani supplies—10 K8 Karakorum light attack aircraft, engines for MiG21 aircraft, HQ-9 and HQ-6 air defence systems, armoured fighting vehicles, and hundreds of various kinds of drones—would give a significant edge to the junta. Large numbers of countries, including India and Pakistan, had participated in UN peacekeeping operations in Sudan, which concluded in 2024. There have been inconclusive discussions since then on redeploying international forces to protect civilians. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Can Syria's tiny Druze minority survive West Asia's new storms? There's little hope
TAG 91.1
30-04-2025
- TAG 91.1
UAE stops illegal transfer of weapons to Sudanese Armed Forces
The UAE security services have foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces through an airport in the country. Members of the cell involved in the illegal arms deal were arrested during an inspection of a private jet that had landed at one of the country's airports for refuelling, the UAE's Attorney-General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirmed on Wednesday. The plane was carrying approximately five million rounds of 7.54 x 62 mm Goryunov-type ammunition. Authorities also seized copies of the contracts related to the deals, forged shipping documents, as well as audio recordings and messages exchanged among the cell members. Al Shamsi said the investigation revealed the involvement of members of the cell with senior Sudanese military figures, including former intelligence Chief Salah Gosh and a political figure close to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, along with several Sudanese businessmen. The Public Prosecution is continuing its investigation and working to carry out "urgent trial proceedings" of the suspects. The investigation uncovered several companies owned by a Sudanese-Ukrainian businessman, including one operating in the UAE. These companies were found to have provided the Sudanese army with weapons, ammunition, grenades, and drones, in collaboration with the cell members and the military's financial officer. One of the companies is listed under US sanctions. The arms were transferred from the Sudanese army to an importing company in the UAE using the "HAWALADARS" transfer method, investigators revealed for deal involving Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, machine guns, and grenades worth millions of dollars. The transaction was facilitated through a company owned by a fugitive cell member working for the Sudanese Armed Forces, in coordination with Colonel Othman Al-Zubair, who is in charge of financial operations in the Sudanese military. Fake contracts and commercial invoices were used to falsely claim the payments were for a sugar import deal. The investigation concluded that these deals were carried out at the request of the Sudanese Armed Forces' Armament Committee, chaired by Al-Burhan and his deputy Al-Atta, with their full knowledge and approval. The cell members were directly assigned to broker and finalise the transactions by Ahmed Rabie Ahmed Al-Sayed, a political figure close to the Sudanese Commander-in-Chief and responsible for issuing end-user certificates and approvals. The group earned $2.6 million in profit margin above the actual value of the two deals, which was distributed among themselves and several accomplices. Gosh's share was found in the possession of suspect Khalid Youssef Mukhtar Youssef, a former intelligence officer and Gosh's ex-chief of staff.
