The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejected an Amnesty International report that accused it of providing Chinese-made weapons to Sudanese paramilitary forces involved in conflict with the country’s regular forces. In a statement released on the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs X account, Salem Aljaberi, Assistant Minister for Security and Military Affairs, strongly denied the allegations, calling them “bareless” and without evidence to support them.
“The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is providing weapons to any party to any conflict in Sudan,” Aljaberi said, adding that the claims made in the amnesty report were “misleading” and lack of proven evidence.
On Thursday, May 8, Amnesty International released a report based on an analysis of its videotaped attacks on the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and Darfur. The report claims it has identified the “Chinese GB50A guided bomb and 155mm AH-4 howitzer” used by the RSF, indicating that the UAE is the only country to import these howitzers from China in 2019. The pardon relies on the data from the Stockkinlm International Peace Institute (SIPRI) relies on its findings.
Aljaberi’s response was to point out that the howitzers in question were made outside the UAE and have been in the international market for nearly a decade. He dismissed the claim that there was only one country to procure or transfer the system, calling the amnesty report “misleading.”
The amnesty report was conducted amid ongoing RSF drones’ ongoing attacks on Sudan’s army-controlled cities. Despite claims from UN experts, American politicians and other international organizations, the UAE has repeatedly denied allegations of arming the RSF. On Tuesday, Sudan’s consistent government-diplomacy with the UAE’s army cut off its government and diplomatic relations, accusing it of providing RSF with advanced weapons to attack the Port of Sudan. The UAE denied the allegation and believed that the internationally recognized Sudanese government does not represent the legal government of Sudan.
