bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Chinese-made weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates have been identified with Sudan’s paramilitaries, Amnesty International said Thursday, as drone attacks prompted civilians to flee the army-held aid hub of Port Sudan.
The Britain-based watchdog said that its research had detailed the use by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of sophisticated Chinese-made artillery and guided bombs in its war with the regular army, now in its third year.
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied arming the RSF, despite reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations.
Amnesty said its research was based on weapons used by the RSF in operations in the western region Darfur and during its loss of the capital Khartoum in March.

It did not mention the long-range drones used by the paramilitaries to attack army-controlled cities in the east and south in recent days.
“Sophisticated Chinese weaponry, re-exported by the United Arab Emirates, has been captured in Khartoum, as well as used in Darfur in a blatant breach of the existing UN arms embargo,” Amnesty said.
It said it identified “Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers” through analysis of video footage and photos of RSF attacks.
It said “the only country in the world that has imported AH-4 howitzers from China is the UAE” in a 2019 deal, relying on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In a brief statement on its social media pages, the Chinese embassy in Sudan urged its citizens to “leave Sudan immediately”, without providing an explanation or details.
“This news concerns Chinese individuals, not institutions,” it said.

Amnesty’s report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities.
On Thursday morning, drones targeted the country’s main naval base just north of Port Sudan, seat of the army-backed government, as well as the southern cities of Kosti and Tendelti, two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
One source said air defences had shot down 15 drones over Port Sudan overnight.
A drone strike also hit Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, killing two young girls, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said.
The attack was the first this week on the capital, where the RSF remains stationed west and south of Omdurman.
Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast had been a safe haven and the country’s main aid hub, hosting United Nations offices and hundreds of thousands of displaced people, until drone strikes blamed on the RSF began on Sunday.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the attacks “threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
More than two years of war have killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million, according to UN figures.
On Tuesday, the army-backed 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, adding that the internationally recognised administration “does not represent the legitimate government of Sudan”.
Since losing nearly all of greater Khartoum to the army in March, the RSF has ramped up their use of long-range drones.
The strikes on Port Sudan have hit key facilities including the country’s last functioning international airport, its largest working fuel depot and the city’s main power station.
At Port Sudan’s bustling main bus station, civilians were scrambling to leave.
“You can’t get a ticket without booking over a day in advance now, all the buses are booked,” said bus company employee Mahmoud Hussein.
Among those fleeing was Haidar Ibrahim, preparing to travel south with his family.
“The smoke is everywhere and my wife suffers from asthma,” he said. “We have no choice but to leave.”
Many of those who had sought refuge in Port Sudan have been displaced multiple times.
The war has effectively split the country in two, with the army holding the north, east and centre, and the RSF in control of most of Darfur and parts of the south.


How China is stepping up Africa charm offensive to boost cultural ties, deepen influence

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni wins seventh term in election marred by fraud claims

Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

Uganda election: Bobi Wine under house arrest amid violence claims, Museveni nears 5th term

Africa

UAE supplying Sudan paramilitaries with Chinese-made weapons: Amnesty

Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces targeted Port Sudan on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Smoke rises after a drone attack in Port Sudan this week. Photo: Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information via Xinhua

A satellite image from April 16 shows weapon-mounted technical vehicles in an area of Sudan’s North Darfur, after it was taken over by the Rapid Support Forces. Photo: Maxar Technologies via Reuters

A destroyed aircraft at Khartoum International Airport in April. Photo: Xinhua

Sudan paramilitaries launch attacks, suicide drones on Port Sudan

Members of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in 2023. Photo: AFP

Sudan’s army chief and de facto ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during a civil service conference in Port Sudan on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Demonstrators step on pictures of UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a protest against the conflict in Sudan, on the day of the two-year anniversary of the conflict, in London on April 15. Photo: Reuters

Drones strike key targets in Port Sudan as civil war rages

A large plume of smoke rises from a fuel depot in Port Sudan on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Damage at Khartoum International Airport last month after it was recaptured from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Photo: Xinhua 

7 killed in South Sudan air strikes, with MSF hospital among targets

Fire burns following an aerial bombardment that resulted in deaths at the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres facility in South Sudan on Saturday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Security forces guard Juba International Airport in South Sudan last month before the arrival of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, ahead of meetings aimed at averting a new civil war. Photo: Reuters

South Sudan has descended into renewed conflict in recent months due to the collapse of a power-sharing agreement between rival generals, President Salva Kiir (R) and First Vice-President Riek Machar. File photo: AFP

Sudan paramilitary chief declares rival government 2 years after civil war erupted

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), delivers a speech in Khartoum, Sudan, in May 2019. Photo: Reuters

A Sudanese woman walks past graves of people killed during clashes lining the streets of Khartoum’s twin-city Omdurman in March. Photo: AFP

A Sudanese woman looks on as she sits next to children on Tuesday at a camp in Port Sudan that houses people mostly displaced from the capital Khartoum. Photo: Reuters

Sudan paramilitaries kill 56 in 48 hours in retaken Darfur town, say activists

Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers work near bodies recovered from a well in the state of Khartoum, Sudan, in March. Photo: Reuters

A displaced Sudanese woman rests inside a shelter in North Darfur, Sudan, in August. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Amnesty report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities


Amnesty report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities.


UAE supplying Sudan paramilitaries with Chinese-made weapons: Amnesty

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Amnesty report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities

Amnesty report came as the RSF pressed its long-range drone attacks on army-held cities