Military equipment manufactured in France is currently being deployed in Sudan on armored vehicles provided by the United Arab Emirates, a situation that Amnesty International has characterized as a violation of the United Nations arms embargo on the Darfur region. The report highlights that armored personnel carriers (APCs), specifically the Nimr Ajban model supplied by the UAE, have been seen outfitted with the Galix defense systems, which are produced by French companies KNDS and Lacroix.
Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, stated, “Our research shows that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan.” This disturbing revelation comes amid a significant escalation of violent conflict in Sudan, where a civil war is ongoing between the national army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Both factions have faced allegations of committing war crimes, resulting in over 11 million people being uprooted from their homes—an outcome described by the UN as the world’s worst displacement crisis.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Sudan’s conflict struggles to capture international attention, often overshadowed by other global conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East. Amnesty International pointed out that the Galix system, designed for defense and active countermeasures, is equipped on more than 5,000 military vehicles around the world, including some utilized by the French army. According to Lacroix, the Galix system comprises sensors and a range of launchers that can deploy various types of ammunition, including smoke and decoys, with capabilities that extend beyond mere self-defense.
Amnesty’s Callamard emphasized that “Any use (of Galix) in Darfur would be a clear breach of the UN arms embargo,” urging the French government to take immediate action by ceasing the supply of these systems to the UAE. In response to the allegations, France’s SGDSN authority, responsible for overseeing arms exports, stated that it had not reviewed the Amnesty report and refrained from commenting on the matter. Likewise, both KNDS and Lacroix declined to provide statements regarding the claims.
The UN has enforced an arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region since 2004, a measure aimed at curbing further violence and instability. Amnesty International contends that this embargo should be expanded to cover the entire nation. The organization warned that if France cannot ensure through export controls, including end-user certifications, that its arms will not be redirected to conflict areas like Sudan, it should refrain from authorizing any exports to countries, such as the UAE, involved in facilitating these military operations.
