Jeremy Corbyn urges UK to halt arms sales to UAE over Sudan atrocities

As a consequence of the atrocities and mass killings in el-Fasher, RSF members have reportedly detained a fighter known as Abu Lulu (left). (Photo: Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP via DW)

By Bashir Mbuthia
Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Jeremy Corbyn cited recent reports tabled before the UN Security Council confirming the recovery of British-made weapons and military equipment from battlefields in Sudan.

United Kingdom MP Jeremy Corbyn has urged the government to suspend arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warning that weapons supplied by the UK to the Gulf state may be fueling atrocities in Sudan.

In a letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, Corbyn expressed concern over recent developments in Sudan, highlighting reports of mass killings, particularly in El Fasher and surrounding areas, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recaptured the strategic town from the Sudanese military in late October.

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"The people of Sudan are enduring unimaginable suffering - and the world is watching. Recent reports of mass killings by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher are truly horrifying," Corbyn said in the letter, seen by The Eastleigh Voice.

"These latest atrocities are compounding an already catastrophic conflict. According to Human Rights Watch, 12.9 million people have fled their homes, including 8.9 million people who are internally displaced. More than half of them are children. 150,000 have been killed."

Further, Corbyn cited recent reports tabled before the UN Security Council confirming the recovery of British-made weapons and military equipment from battlefields in Sudan.

The reports, compiled by Sudan's military in June 2024 and March 2025, revealed the discovery of small-arms training systems manufactured in Wales by Militec and British-built engines fitted in armoured vehicles at former RSF bases in Khartoum and Omdurman.

According to the documents, the equipment reached the RSF through the UAE, revelations that have reignited scrutiny of Britain's arms exports to the Gulf state, which has faced repeated accusations of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group in violation of United Nations (UN) embargoes.

"You will be aware of multiple reports, including from the UN, claiming that the UAE has been providing arms to the RSF. Despite the gravity of these reports, the UK government continues to allow the supply of arms to the UAE. According to documents seen by the UN Security Council, British military equipment has been found on battlefields in Sudan," Corbyn said.

"Earlier this year, I wrote to your predecessor to express my grave concern over the UK's continued arms sales to the UAE. Once again, I am writing to demand that the UK government suspend all arms sales to the UAE."

According to Corbyn, the UK is obliged to stop the supply of weapons where there is a clear risk that those weapons could be used to commit or facilitate atrocities.

"It is on this basis that Amnesty International has described the UK's continued arms sales to the UAE as indefensible," he said.

Referencing his earlier letter to the former UK Foreign Secretary, Corbyn also criticised the UK government for inviting the UAE, but not Sudan, to the London Sudan Conference earlier this year, saying the move undermined Sudanese-led peace efforts

"This was a historic mistake, contradicting the government's own stated commitment to a process that is Sudanese-led and undermining the prospects for long-term peace," he said.

"The UK government should be supporting efforts that promote de-escalation and diplomacy, but it is falling well short. Far too many lives have been lost during this horrific conflict."