arms traffic

UN investigation finds genocide in Sudan

The UN fact-finding mission for Sudan has produced a follow-up to its February investigation into 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, and describes the involvement of senior RSF members, including deputy commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo (brother of overall commander "Hemedti"), during the takeover. 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.

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.

Civil society call to end AI in warfare

More than 200 civil society groups and advocates on June 15 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.

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 (HRW) said in a report released May 25.

Drones now leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on May 11 issued a high alert on the widening use of drones in the conflict in Sudan. Türk warned that unless the international community takes action without delay, the conflict in Sudan could enter a new, even deadlier phase.

The Sudan team at the Human Rights Office found that upwards of 80% of all civilian deaths from January to April—numbering at least 880—can be attributed to drone attacks. These include attacks on May 8 that killed 26 civilians in Al Quz, South Kordofan, and near El Obeid, North Kordofan.

Fighting again erupts in Syria's Suwayda

Clashes broke out May 4 in Syria's southern as-Suwayda (Suweida) 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. (TNA)

US charges Mexican officials with drug trafficking

A grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 29 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.

Peru: US arms deal behind cabinet shake-up

Peru's government made a $462 million payment to US defense contractor Lockheed Martin on April 22 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 earlier in the day. Defense Minister Carlos Díaz and Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela cited their opposition to interim President José Balcázar's attempt to delay the deal.

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