Tag: arms traffic

Africa
Sudan

UN investigation finds genocide in Sudan

The UN fact-finding mission for Sudan has produced a follow-up to its February investigationinto atrocities by the Rapid Defense Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, finding at least three of the “material crimes” of genocide “overwhelmingly present.” After a prolonged siege, the UAE-backed paramilitary army launched an October 2025 assault on El Fasher, which was the last major Darfur city where the Sudanese army and allied forces were in control. Since the February publication, the mission said it has received new information, especially on the abduction and mass rape of women and girls. It says survivors were raped by RSF forces in the presence of corpses, including of family members, and were targeted along ethnic lines. The mission also received new information on the high number of people—up to tens of thousands—who remain missing or unaccounted for. With the RSF planning a new assault on the North Kordofan capital, El Obeid, the mission said the same patterns are repeating, and called for the lessons of El Fasher not to be ignored. (Map: PCL)

Africa
RSF

UAE-backed network in Libya fuels Sudan war

A new Lighthouse Reports investigation has brought to light new evidence of the United Arab Emirates’ role in sustaining Sudan’s civil war by backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through a covert logistics and training network based in eastern Libya. The report draws on social media analysis, geolocation data, satellite imagery, and witness interviews to trace alleged RSF-linked camps, convoy routes, and transfers of weapons and fuel between Libya and Sudan. The investigation identified four previously unknown RSF staging areas in Libya, including one near Benghazi. RSF defectors described training alongside Libyan National Army soldiers and UAE-contracted Colombian mercenaries before being sent back to Sudan. (Photo of RSF forces in Darfur via Sudan Tribune)

Watching the Shadows
missile

Rights groups call to end AI in warfare

More than 200 human rights groups and advocates issued a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to the use of artificial intelligence systems in military “kill chains,” warning that AI-accelerated warfare risks facilitating violations of international criminal, human rights and humanitarian law. The signatories said that claimed safeguards such as “human in the loop” mechanisms cannot prevent the lethal consequences of AI-accelerated targeting, but instead risk becoming a means of “rubber-stamping” killing at greatly accelerated speed and scale. (Image: Andrew West via Pixabay)

Africa
Sudan

UAE recruits Colombian fighters for Sudan’s RSF: report

A company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hired and transported hundreds of Colombian private military contractors to Sudan to fight for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Human Rights Watch charges in a new report. HRW found that the recruits passed through a UAE military base in Ghiyathi and an apparent private military facility in Al Wathba, both in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. HRW called on the international community to press the UAE to end its support for the RSF by suspending military cooperation and arms sales. (Map: PCL)

Syria
Suwayda

Fighting again erupts in Syria’s Suwayda

Clashes broke out in Syria’s southern as-Suwayda province between the central government’s Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region’s self-declared “National Guard.” Fighters from the Guard’s “501 Knights of Hamza” battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate’s western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. Since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December 2024, Israel has occupied large areas of eastern as-Suwayda, and is believed to have dropped arms to Druze fighters in the region. The province has been effectively divided since fighting broke out last year between Druze militia and central government forces and their local Bedouin allies. (Map: Google)

Mexico
Mexico

US charges Mexican officials with drug trafficking

A grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted 10 current and former Mexican officials for importing large amounts of drugs into the United States, along with related offenses. The officials include the current governor of Sinaloa state, Rubén Rocha Moya, as well as a Sinaloa deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police, and a federal senator. The indictment accuses the officials of ties to one faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, “Los Chapitos,” run by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life prison term in the US. In a seeming reference to the fact that Rocha Moya and others of those indicted are from Mexico’s ruling MORENA party, President Claudia Sheinbaum said: “[I]t it is evident that the objective of these charges by the Department of Justice is political… We will not allow any foreign government to…decide the future of the Mexican people.” (Map: Google)

The Andes
Lima

Peru: US arms deal behind cabinet shake-up

Peru’s government made a $462 million payment to US defense contractor Lockheed Martin for purchase of 12 ‌F-16 fighter jets, the first installment in a controversial multi-billion-dollar deal that triggered the resignation of two top ministers. In stepping down, Defense Minister Carlos Díaz and Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela cited their opposition to interim President José Balcázar’s attempt to delay the deal. The payment came days after a $2 billion contract for the F-16s was signed by an official in Peru’s Air Force—over the head of Balcázar, who was informed of finalization of the deal only after the fact. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Iran
PJAK

Iranian Kurds deny receiving US weapons

Leaders of all the major Kurdish opposition parties in Iran denied that they have received weapons from the United States, after President Donald Trump said that Washington had sent arms to the Iranian protesters through the Kurds. “We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump told Fox News. “And I think the Kurds took the guns.” This was immediately refuted by leaders of the the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). (Image: Middle East Forum via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa
Sudan

Ethiopia accused of backing Sudan’s RSF

Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing drones to be launched from its territory to carry out attacks against Sudanese government forces. This marks the first time Sudan has directly accused its neighbor of involvement in the three-year civil war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a statement, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry warned of unspecified consequences. The drone accusation follows reports of the construction of an RSF training base in northwest Ethiopia, paid for by the United Arab Emirates. (Map: PCL)

Africa
RDF

US sanctions Rwanda military

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) and four of its top military officials over their support, training, and fighting alongside M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The RDF have reportedly provided direct operational support to the M23 and its affiliates by introducing advanced military equipment to eastern DRC, including GPS jamming systems, air defense equipment, and drones. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US seeks the immediate withdrawal of RDF troops, weapons and equipment. (Photo: US Air Force via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe
Russian Embassy

Global commitment crucial for Ukraine justice: Amnesty International

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Amnesty International called on the international community to maintain a steadfast commitment to hold Russia accountable under international law for its crimes and aggression. The statement noted diminishing pressure on Russia, raising concerns about rights protections and prospects for peace in Ukraine. Amnesty’s senior director for research and advocacy Erika Guevara-Rosas commented that “commitments to justice and human rights are weakening as powerful actors grow emboldened to disregard international law and further erode the rules-based order.” (Photo of Russian embassy in London: Kwh1050 via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa
SANDF

South Africa deploys military against gangs, illegal mining

During the annual State of the Nation address, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of military troops to support police efforts against illegal mining and gang violence in the provinces of Gauteng and Western Cape. South Africa has for years struggled with gang violence and illegal mining, which are now said to threaten the country’s stability. The government has intensified efforts to combat the surge in violence by implementing targeted strategies and measures, such as creating specialized police units, but these have proved ineffectual. (Photo: Wesley Nitsckie via Wikipedia)