New International Report Calls for Pressure on UAE to Stop Arming Militias

Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an investigation into what it described as a brutal attack carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) elements on the Zamzam camp in North Darfur.

The organization, in a report published on Wednesday, stated that the militia deliberately killed civilians, took hostages, and plundered and destroyed mosques, schools, and health clinics during a large-scale assault in April on Zamzam, the largest internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in North Darfur.

Amnesty International said it conducted research for the report between June and August 2025, including interviews with 29 individuals, such as eyewitnesses, survivors, relatives of victims, journalists, analysts, and medical experts involved in treating the injured. The organization also verified dozens of videos, photographs, and satellite images, noting that the RSF militia did not respond to a request for comment.

The report, titled “A Destroyed Haven: Violations by the Rapid Support Forces in Zamzam IDP Camp”, detailed the attack that took place between 11–13 April 2025. It noted that the militia used explosive weapons and fired indiscriminately in densely populated residential areas, causing approximately 400,000 people to flee the camp between 13–14 April alone.

The report indicated that the attack was part of a military campaign launched by the militia in May 2024 to seize the city of El-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, during which dozens of unarmed men were executed and sexual violations were committed against women and girls.

Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said the horrific and deliberate attack on desperate civilians suffering from hunger in Zamzam camp revealed a severe disregard for human life.

She explained that civilians were subjected to brutal attacks, killings, and looting of essential property for survival, leaving them without access to justice while mourning their dead.

“This attack was not an isolated incident, but part of an ongoing campaign against villages and IDP camps,” she added.

Callamard further noted, “Some international partners, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have contributed to fuelling the conflict by supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces,” urging an end to arms flows to conflict parties by expanding the arms embargo on Darfur to cover the entire country.

She called on the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, and China to demand that all countries—particularly the UAE—refrain from transferring weapons and ammunition to the militia and other armed groups.

She stressed that due to the high risks of weapons being diverted to militias, countries must immediately halt all arms transfers to the UAE.