UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told

British military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told.

Documents seen by the UN security council reveal that British-made small-arms target systems and engines for armoured personnel carriers have been recovered from combat sites in Sudan. The equipment is believed to have been supplied to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide.

The UK government's decision to export this equipment has raised questions about its role in fuelling the conflict. The UAE, where the RSF is based, has repeatedly denied allegations that it supplies arms to the group.

Months after initial allegations surfaced, new data suggests that the British government approved further exports of military equipment to the UAE for use by the RSF. The equipment includes British-made engines specifically designed for a type of armoured personnel carrier manufactured by a UAE-based company called Nimr.

The finding has prompted concern among human rights activists and experts, who argue that the UK's export of arms to the UAE could be contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

"The international community, including the UK, must urgently investigate how this transfer occurred and ensure that no British technology or weaponry contributes to the suffering of innocent Sudanese civilians," said Abdallah Idriss Abugarda, chair of the Darfur Diaspora Association.

The UN security council has previously received reports alleging UAE involvement in supplying arms to the RSF. The UK government has refused to disclose details about its export licensing decisions, citing national security concerns.

Cummins Inc, a US-based company that manufactures engines for the armoured personnel carriers, said it had a strong compliance culture and followed applicable laws and regulations regarding sanctions and export controls.

The UK's decision to export arms to the UAE in this case has sparked controversy. The country is accused of failing to adequately assess the risk of diversion to the conflict in Sudan and not doing enough to prevent the supply of equipment that could be used in international crimes.

In 2013, the UK government approved exports of night-vision sights to a UAE business, which were subsequently procured by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

The UN security council's finding raises further questions about the UK's role in fuelling conflicts abroad and its commitment to preventing arms being diverted to groups accused of human rights abuses.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this ... how can a country like the UK, which is always going on about doing what's right, just supply arms to a group that's accused of genocide? It's like they're ignoring all the warnings and just letting it happen. And now I hear they approved more exports after initial allegations surfaced... that's just crazy talk! They need to take responsibility for this and figure out how their own export policies are so broken. The US company Cummins Inc says they have a compliance culture, but what does that even mean? Is it enough to stop the UK from supplying arms to a group like this? I don't think so...

I'm low-key shocked by this latest bombshell . The fact that British military equipment is being used by a militia accused of genocide in Sudan raises some serious red flags . I mean, shouldn't the UK be doing more to prevent its arms from being used for evil purposes? It's like they're enabling the situation instead of trying to resolve it. And what's with all these dodgy export decisions? The fact that they approved further exports to the UAE after initial allegations surfaced is just mind-boggling . I'm not buying the "national security concerns" excuse either. We need more transparency and accountability from our governments when it comes to arms deals. Can't we trust them to make better choices?

This is just wild... I mean, we're talking about the UK supplying British-made equipment that ended up in the hands of a group accused of genocide... It's like they're saying "good luck with that" to the international community. And the fact that the UAE is denying any involvement, but the UN found proof of it... I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that it happened or that nobody seemed to be doing anything about it until now. It just goes to show how complex and messy global politics can get.

oh noooo this is so not cool like the uk is just exporting guns to a country that has a paramilitary group that is allegedly doing genocide how can they not see what's going on? and now it's also like cummins inc is all innocent but still we gotta keep calling out the uk for this it's not right that they're just ignoring all these allegations and exporting more guns to the UAE gotta do better, uk

This is so worrying . It looks like the British government just sold some super powerful equipment to the UAE, which could end up in the hands of these militia guys who are allegedly responsible for genocide in Sudan. I mean, what's going on here? The UK is saying they can't disclose details about their export decisions, but that sounds like a pretty dodgy excuse to me . We need more transparency and accountability from our governments when it comes to arms exports. I'm not surprised human rights activists are speaking out against this - it just makes sense that we should be protecting innocent civilians, not fueling conflicts abroad . The fact that they sold night-vision sights to the Taliban too in 2013 is like, totally unacceptable . We need some serious oversight and regulation here to make sure our governments aren't enabling these kinds of atrocities .

This is super concerning, you know? Like, we're talking about the UK exporting military equipment to a country that's basically accused of genocide , and now it turns out they've been supplying arms to this group directly . It raises so many questions about accountability and where the UK's priorities are at. I mean, think about it - they have a history of exporting stuff to groups that end up using it for bad things, like the Taliban in Afghanistan .

And now they're saying they didn't do enough to prevent this equipment from being diverted to conflict zones? That doesn't add up . It sounds like they just weren't paying close enough attention to who was getting their tech and what was going to happen to it. I'm all for the UK wanting to maintain good relations with other countries, but when it comes at the cost of human lives, that's a different story .

The fact that they're still refusing to disclose details about these export licenses is not helping either . It's like they're trying to sweep this under the rug and avoid any blame . But we can't just sit back and let governments get away with this stuff without calling them out . We need more transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to arms deals that could be fueling conflicts abroad .

I don’t usually comment but... this is just wild, you know? Like, what kind of move does a country like the UK make? Exporting equipment that could be used for genocide and then denying it even happens. It's like they're trying to avoid being responsible or something . And now we're talking about Cummins Inc saying they follow laws and regulations but... I don't know, man. This just feels off. It makes me wonder if anyone is actually holding these governments accountable for the stuff they do. Like, who's checking their backs?

this is so worrying , how can the UK just export this stuff to a country that's accused of genocide and then deny any involvement? it seems like they're more concerned with making money than doing what's right. i mean, cummins inc says they follow laws and regulations but what about the UK gov's role in all this? shouldn't they be taking responsibility for their own exports?

omg this is so messed up british gov is literally profiting off war & genocide while pretending like they care about human rights... i dont trust them anymore, they should be held accountable for their actions

.. like, isn't it wild that they still can't seem to get their act together when it comes to exporting arms? I mean, we all know the UAE has denied any involvement with the RSF, but clearly, that didn't stop the British from sending them some sweet, sweet armoured personnel carrier engines. The fact that they're still trying to keep things under wraps is pretty suspicious. And let's not forget that whole night-vision sight thing in 2013... yeah, that wasn't exactly a confidence booster for their export policies. It's all about accountability, guys. Can we please just get some transparency on this?

Like, who knew that the UK was secretly running a militia armada in Sudan?! Just kidding, kinda serious tho ... I mean, what's up with this whole British-made equipment ending up in the hands of, let's say "unstable" groups? It's like they're playing a real-life video game where the goal is to create global chaos . And the UK's all like "national security concerns"... yeah right, more like "I don't wanna answer any questions about this, periodt!" . The US company Cummins Inc is all clean and whatnot, but I'm sure they're not getting paid under the table or anything... wink-wink . Anywayz, it's just another example of how arms exports can lead to some pretty sketchy stuff going down in the world .

this is so crazy! british made equipment found in sudan with militia that accused of genocide... it's like they're playing a bad game of geopolitics here. the uk gov shouldn't be exporting arms to uae if they know it's gonna end up in wrong hands. and now we got this new info about cummins inc making engines for armoured personnel carriers too? it's not just the uk, but also us companies that need to take responsibility.

i mean, what's going on here is a clear example of how arms export can fuel conflicts and human rights abuses. we should be talking about holding governments accountable, not just condemning things from afar.

This is so messed up . I mean, think about it - British military equipment is basically fueling a genocide in Sudan, and they just didn't care enough to stop it. It's like, basic human decency, you know? And now the UN is on it, trying to figure out how this all went down and whether anyone will actually do anything about it. The UK government is being super secretive about it too, citing national security concerns... yeah, sure, because that's not just a cover-up . This whole thing makes me so frustrated - we need more accountability from governments when it comes to arms exports and human rights. It's like, come on, can't they do better than this?

this is insane what are we even doing? we're basically selling our military tech to a country that's been linked to war crimes and then wondering why civilians are getting hurt the fact that the UK didn't do more to vet this export deal beforehand is just mind-boggling... it's like, hello, aren't you aware of what's happening on the ground? we need to hold these governments accountable for their actions, not just turn a blind eye because it's convenient

this is super worrying... if british made equipment is ending up in genocidal hands, it means they didn't do their due diligence on where it was going . i mean, we already knew the UAE was denying any involvement, but now it seems like the UK just went ahead and sold them this stuff anyway . cummins inc says they followed laws and regulations, but what about the uk's role in all of this? did they do their own checks or were they just too scared to rock the boat . the fact that they approved further exports after initial allegations surfaced is just shady . we need more transparency here and answers from the uk government on what went down .

this is just wrong... the uk should know where their exports are going and who's getting them... it's not like they're just magically disappearing into thin air ... the fact that they approved further exports after allegations surfaced just shows how little regard they have for human rights ... cummins inc saying they followed laws and regulations is easy to say, but does anyone really check their books? ... the uk needs to get its act together and start taking responsibility for its actions ... we can't just sit back and let them fuel conflicts abroad while pretending everything's fine ...

this is just so messed up like how can u be so callous towards innocent lives? british gov should be ashamed of themselves for exporting this equipment to a group that's literally accused of genocide the fact that they're hiding behind national security concerns is just laughable and what's with the cummins inc guy trying to play dumb about their compliance culture newsflash dude, u can't just wash your hands of the consequences of ur actions...

this is super worrying, if uku exports arms 2 countries that have history of using them against civilians, how can we be sure they wont end up in wrong hands? especially when it comes 2 places like sudan where the situation is already super dire. shouldn't they be focusing on helping ppl get out of poverty & conflict instead of fueling more violence?

omg u cant believe whats goin on with britain n sudan they just found british mil equipment that was used by militia that's accused of genocide lol its like wut r they even thinkin ??!!?

n the uk gov just approved more exports to uae n now ppl r askin if they even do background checks or no cuz they sold equipment 2 taliban fighters in afghanistan back in 2013 & now its sudan

i mean cummins inc is tryna say their company has a strong compliance culture lol like who dont? but seriously ppl shud be askin if the uk gov even cares bout humanitarian crises n stuff cuz they just exported more arms 2 uae n now theres genocide in sudan