British MPs across parties demand UAE arms embargo over Sudan

British MPs from several parties have urged the UK government to review the sale of arms to the UAE that could be used in Sudan after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city of el-Fasher in North Darfur and massacred civilians there.

The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, as well as MPs from Labour, the Independent Alliance and the Scottish National Party, demanded a suspension of arms sales to the United Arab Emirates in comments to Middle East Eye on Friday.

It emerged earlier this week that British military equipment was found in RSF hands in combat zones in Sudan.

On Sunday, the RSF seized el-Fasher after beseiging the city - where 260,000 people were trapped - for more than 500 days. 

The paramilitaries have committed widespread atrocities in the wake of their triumph, filming themselves massacring fleeing civilians and reportedly executing 460 people in a hospital.

The Guardian reported that the UN Security Council received information earlier this year that the UAE may have supplied British-made arms to the paramilitary group, which has been accused by the US and human rights groups of committing genocide in Darfur earlier in the war. 

Though it denies backing the RSF, there is mounting evidence that the UAE continues to supply the paramilitaries with sophisticated weaponry and Colombian mercenaries.

On Friday, an MEE investigation revealed how Bosaso air base in Somalia has been used to transport cargo from the UAE to Sudan. Sources there said RSF fighters have recieved medical treatment at the base, where Colombian mercenaries are also commonly seen.

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Monica Harding, Liberal Democrat MP and the party's international development spokesperson, told MEE that the British government must immediately suspend arms sales to the UAE.

She said that for the Labour government to "brush off demands for the UK to stop selling military equipment to the UAE - unless we can determine absolutely it is not facilitating the horrendous violence committed by the RSF - will be of deep concern to many both here in Britain and across the world".

"I urge the foreign secretary to think again. We must stop selling British arms to the UAE: equipment made on our soil must never end up in the hands of those committing such atrocities," she said.

Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP and the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, told MEE that Britain "must act with urgency to stop the bloodshed and ensure aid reaches all affected".

"If British military equipment is being found in the hands of the RSF, we cannot carry on business as usual," she said.

"The government should immediately suspend all arms sales to the UAE until ministers can confidently and publicly confirm that UK weapons and components are not being diverted to the RSF by the UAE."

'The UK must harness its soft power'

On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was asked in parliament whether Britain would suspend arms sales to the UAE until it is proven that it is not arming the RAF.

Cooper did not answer, but said Britain has "extremely strong controls on arms exports" and "will continue to take that immensely seriously".

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Abtisam Mohamed, Labour MP and member of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), told MEE she was "appalled that British-made weapons are being used to fuel violence and mass killings in Sudan".

"The UK must harness its soft power to confront the atrocities unfolding in Sudan as a matter of urgency," she said.

"As the UN penholder on Sudan, we have a responsibility to immediately review all arms exports that could be contributing, directly or indirectly, to potential war crimes," she added.

"It is our moral and legal duty to push for an immediate ceasefire, the restoration of humanitarian aid and the upholding of international law."

Two dossiers dated June 2024 and March 2025 and seen by the UN Security Council indicate that Britain continued to approve exports to the UAE for military equipment.

They contained images of small-arms target devices recovered from former RSF sites in Khartoum and the Sudanese capital's twin city Omdurman.

'Government must take a much firmer stance'

The Labour government is under increasing pressure from its own backbenchers to take a stronger stance on the war in Sudan.

"We cannot claim to champion human rights abroad while turning a blind eye to the use of British-made weapons in conflicts fuelling atrocities," Labour MP Kim Johnson told MEE. 

"The government must take a much firmer stance and immediately suspend arms exports to the UAE pending a full investigation into how this equipment ended up in the RSF’s hands."

'The UK government must introduce an arms embargo on the UAE in response to these concerns, but ultimately they should have been acting long before it has reached this point'

- Chris Law MP

Johnson added: "Anything less undermines our international credibility and risks further complicity in the violence being inflicted on the Sudanese people."

Fellow Labour MP Imran Hussain added: "I am deeply distressed by reports of mass killings and atrocities unfolding in Darfur. The international community cannot look away as civilians are massacred and entire communities face annihilation."

Hussain said the government "must urgently ensure that all arms export controls are applied with the utmost scrutiny, and that no British-made equipment ever contributes to such appalling violence".

Meanwhile Scottish National Party MP Chris Law told MEE: "I agree the UK government must introduce an arms embargo on the UAE in response to these concerns, but ultimately they should have been acting long before it has reached this point.

"If the UK government are serious about restoring faith in their arms exports controls, then they would support the restoration of the Committee on Arms Exports Controls [CAEC], and ensure that this committee has the proper teeth needed to tackle instances of abuse," he added.

The CAEC was dissolved in early 2024, when the previous Conservative government decided its role was covered by the Business and Trade Committee and it was therefore redundant.

Law said he is "investigating the necessary steps required to ensure this committee’s restoration".

MP Ayoub Khan, a member of the parliamentary Independent Alliance, told MEE that this week's revelations "should have prompted an immediate review of arms exports to the UAE. Instead, we hear reassurances about strong controls that clearly aren’t working".

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He added: "It’s time for a firm stance and suspending arms exports to the UAE is the bare minimum if Britain wants to restore any semblance of principle to its foreign policy."

Fellow Independent Alliance MP Shockat Adam said that Britain "must immediately cease supplying arms directly or indirectly, prolonging this conflict".

"Sudan is in its third year of civil conflict, with over 150,000 killed and the world's worst humanitarian crisis," he said.

"We must do everything possible to de-escalate, find a brisk resolution, and get in aid."

Sudan's war began in April 2023 when tensions over plans to fold the RSF into the regular military exploded into a conflict that has devastated the country.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and around 13 million others have been displaced.

The RSF has been accused of targeting civilians with killings, lootings and sexual abuse throughout the war. The Sudanese Armed Forces has also been accused of war crimes.