Military equipment made in France by the KNDS-France and Lacroix groups and installed in armored personnel carriers (APCs) produced in the United Arab Emirates is being used in the war in Sudan, Amnesty International says, in violation of the EU arms embargo.

The investigation shows that weapon systems designed and manufactured in France are being actively used on the battlefields in Sudan, underlines the NGO’s general secretary, Anies Calamar, in Amnesty’s press release.

According to the organisation, Nimr Ajban-type IEDs, manufactured in the UAE by the national Edge industry, are being used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, under General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, in Sudan and apparently in Darfur.

Amnesty International’s investigation reveals that UAE-made Nimr Ajban APCs, fitted with the French Galix reactive defense system, are being used in Sudan by the RSF. This marks a troubling involvement of UAE technology in a region under a UN arms embargo.

The vehicles of the type are equipped with Galix self-protection systems, designed and manufactured by the companies KNDS-France and Lacroix, as evidenced by photographic material published by Amnesty International.

These systems, thanks to sensors, allow the detection of threats and the launching of means such as smoke grenades or ammunition to neutralise incoming missiles or personnel around the vehicle, according to Lacroix. 

When contacted by AFP, the general secretariat of defence and national security (SGDSN), which is in charge of controlling the export of war material, limited itself to saying that it was not aware of the Amnesty International investigation and would not comment. . KNDS France and Lacroix gave an identical answer.

The French government must ensure that Lacroix Défense and KNDS-France immediately stop supplying such systems to the United Arab Emirates,” stressed Ms. Calamar. An EU arms embargo has been imposed on Sudan, while the UN has only imposed an arms embargo on Darfur since 2004. The NGO is asking the international organisation to extend it to the entire Sudanese territory.

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