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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir holds an automatic rifle as he greets crowds during a military rally in Khartoum, Sudan, on May 27, 2009. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)
Serious human rights violations are being committed in Darfur by security forces using arms China and Russia sold to the Sudanese government, human rights group Amnesty International said in a new report.
In the report, Amnesty said that Chinese, Russian, and Belarussian arms and ammunition are still being supplied to troops in Darfur despite evidence that they will be used against civilians. “Exports include supplying significant quantities of ammunition, helicopter gunships, attack aircrafts, air-to-ground rockets, and armoured vehicles,” the London-based rights group said.
Five years ago, Amnesty raised concerns about arms from China and Russia ending up in Sudan being used not only in Darfur, but also in South Kordofan province. The rights group reiterated concerns on Wednesday after fresh fighting between government forces and opposition troops broke out.
In 2011, around 70,000 people were displaced in eastern Darfur after the government targeted ethnic groups.
“China and Russia are selling arms to the government of Sudan in the full knowledge that many of them are likely to end up being used to commit human rights violations in Darfur,” said Brian Wood, a military expert for Amnesty, adding that “the Darfur conflict is sustained by the constant flow of weapons from abroad.”
Amnesty said that the United Nations arms embargo needs to be extended to the entire country, not just Darfur. Currently, Sudan can still buy weapons from other countries but cannot use them in the Darfur region.
The report was released just a week before the U.N. Security Council is to consider further sanctions against Sudan and its president, Omar al-Bashir—the only head of state with a warrant against him issued by the International Criminal Court.
Without a strong arms treaty in Sudan, “arms embargoes will continue to be flouted and millions of people will continue to suffer the consequences of irresponsible arms transfers, as they do in Darfur,” Wood added.
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when African rebels took up arms in protests against the Sudanese government, saying they are victims of discrimination. The government under Bashir is accused of arming local militias and nomadic Arab tribes, or Janjaweed, and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. U.N. officials say that at least 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million people have been displaced in the conflict.
China is the largest trade partner with Sudan, with Beijing importing oil and Khartoum importing low-cost goods. In 2007, China purchased 40 percent of Sudan’s annual output of oil.
