British-made military equipment has been found on Sudanese battlefields and linked to use by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide, according to documents seen by the UN security council. The material, set out in two dossiers reviewed by council members, includes UK-manufactured small-arms target systems and British-made engines for armoured personnel carriers recovered from combat sites across the country. The disclosures raise sharp questions about the export of British defence goods to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been accused of supplying weapons to the RSF during Sudan’s devastating war. The finding arrives as Sudan’s conflict drives what UN agencies describe as the world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe, with mass displacement, widespread hunger and repeated reports of atrocities, particularly in Darfur.
Context and timing
The UN security council in New York has been briefed on the dossiers, which detail items of British origin found during the war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. The Guardian reported the material on Tuesday, 28 October 2025. The items cited were recovered from recent combat sites in Sudan, where fighting has engulfed major cities and provinces, including Khartoum and Darfur.
Evidence of UK-made parts recovered from Sudan battlefields
Documents seen by the security council state that UK-manufactured small-arms target systems and British-made engines for armoured personnel carriers were recovered at multiple combat locations. Investigators linked the recovered items to areas of RSF operations, though Sudan’s fluid front lines and the widespread use of captured equipment complicate tracing.
The emergence of two dossiers suggests a systematic effort to map the provenance of materiel used in the conflict. Such mapping typically relies on component markings, purchase records and testimonies from recovery teams. While investigators have not publicly detailed full supply chains, the presence of British-made items inside Sudan’s war zones underscores how parts and ancillary systems can move across borders and into conflicts despite licensing controls and end-use assurances.
Arms export scrutiny and alleged UAE supply lines
The dossiers have sparked renewed scrutiny of British arms exports to the UAE, which has faced accusations of supplying weapons to the RSF. The Guardian’s reporting says the documents raise questions about how items exported legally to a third country might have ended up on Sudanese battlefields. Diversion—when equipment moves from an approved recipient to an unapproved end user—remains one of the most persistent risks in global arms trade.
The UK government says it operates a rigorous, risk-based export licensing system designed to prevent British goods from contributing to serious violations of international humanitarian law. Licences are assessed against criteria that include the risk of diversion and misuse. Exporters typically provide end-use undertakings, and authorities can suspend or revoke licences if new evidence emerges. The evidence cited to the UN is likely to intensify calls for closer monitoring of re-exports and for tighter controls on sensitive components, spares and dual-use items that can be repurposed in conflict.
The RSF’s record and allegations of genocide
The RSF grew out of militias active in Darfur and stands accused by survivors, rights groups and experts of ethnically targeted killings, mass sexual violence and forced displacement, particularly against communities in West Darfur. Reports from UN bodies and humanitarian organisations have documented patterns of abuse that rights advocates say meet the threshold for atrocity crimes. The Guardian report notes that the UN security council has been informed of allegations of genocide linked to the RSF.
Allegations of genocide carry significant political and legal weight, especially when placed before the security council. While formal determinations vary by state and tribunal, the accumulation of evidence about attacks on civilians in Darfur has increased international pressure for accountability. The documented presence of foreign-sourced equipment on Sudan’s battlefields, regardless of origin, adds urgency to debates over arms flows and embargo enforcement.
Sudan’s war and the world’s largest displacement crisis
Since April 2023, Sudan’s war has torn through cities and towns, splintered the country’s economy and overwhelmed public services. UN agencies say Sudan now faces the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with millions uprooted from their homes. Neighbouring countries have received large influxes of people seeking safety, while those remaining face acute shortages of food, water and healthcare.
Humanitarian organisations warn of rising hunger and disease. Aid convoys struggle to reach besieged areas due to insecurity, checkpoints and bureaucratic barriers. Health facilities have been looted or destroyed, and many skilled staff have fled. The conflict’s scale and duration have compounded needs, with repeated ceasefire attempts collapsing and front lines shifting, making civilian protection and aid delivery extremely difficult.
UN security council attention and contested enforcement
The security council has periodically heard briefings on Sudan, including on arms flows into Darfur, where a UN arms embargo has long applied. Enforcement remains a challenge. Conflict zones feature decentralised supply routes, smuggling networks and a mix of state and non-state actors. These conditions allow weapons and components to circulate despite formal prohibitions and monitoring regimes.
Council members have often struggled to reach consensus on broader sanctions and measures. Differing geopolitical priorities and alliances have slowed efforts to expand or tighten embargoes. The new dossiers will likely prompt further debate over how the council can improve tracing, verification and accountability for breaches, and whether to revisit the scope of existing restrictions in light of the war’s intensification.
Implications for UK policy and the defence industry
The UK’s export control regime faces intensified scrutiny when British-origin items appear in conflict zones linked to mass atrocities. Parliamentarians, campaign groups and industry will likely press for clarity on what
