Agency Report –
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Chatnewstv.com) — Kenyan-labelled ammunition crates have been discovered inside a suspected Rapid Support Forces (RSF) depot near Sudan’s capital, raising fresh questions over Kenya’s possible logistical or political support for the paramilitary group accused of war crimes, including ethnic cleansing.
The investigation, conducted by Bellingcat and Kenya’s Daily Nation, identified several crates with markings linked to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence (MoD) at a warehouse in the Salha area of Omdurman—part of Khartoum’s metropolitan region—recently retaken by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Among the items documented were 14.5×114mm armour-piercing incendiary rounds and Chinese-made 82mm HE PP87 mortar bombs—ammunition not known to be manufactured in Kenya, though some were reportedly delivered under contracts attributed to the Kenyan MoD.
Kenya’s Ministry of Defence denied any connection to the weapons, stating it does “not recognize the crates nor the inscriptions on them,” and emphasized that the country’s ammunition production and supply are tightly audited and controlled.
“The Ministry of Defence distances itself from the allegations,” a spokesperson said, reaffirming Kenya’s stated commitment to regional peace efforts.
Still, arms analysts told Bellingcat that stencilled crate markings—including contract and batch numbers—suggested the weapons were delivered to Kenya under official contracts as recently as 2024, well after the start of Sudan’s civil war.
Growing Evidence of International Diversions
Justin Lynch, Managing Director of Conflict Insights Group, said the evidence “strongly suggests political and logistical support from Kenya to the RSF,” pointing to overlapping timelines of RSF delegations visiting Nairobi, increased arms traffic, and a $1.5 billion UAE loan agreement with Kenya.
“It seems hardly a coincidence that RSF conferences in Nairobi were followed by suspicious UAE-to-RSF shipments transiting through Kenya,” Lynch said.
Bellingcat’s findings include open-source videos showing Sudanese soldiers uncovering crates inside an abandoned RSF depot in Salha. Geolocation confirms that soldiers from SAF’s General Intelligence Service, including a major identified as Al-Makki Abdul Quddus Ahmed, were filmed with the crates after the SAF retook the area on May 20.
Crates Tied to Kenya, Chad, and China
Weapons experts from the Armament Research Services (ARES) and Chiron Resources confirmed that the crates appeared consistent with prior Kenyan procurement contracts and were likely part of the same shipment. Some bore labels indicating 82mm mortar bombs previously identified by Human Rights Watch as in RSF hands.
In a separate discovery in Omdurman, the SAF also displayed weapons allegedly captured from the RSF that bore labels tied to Chad’s Strategic Reserves agency. Among the items were Chinese 73mm HEDP/HEAT rockets—suggesting a wider regional pipeline of arms into Sudan in violation of a 2005 U.N. arms embargo.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have previously documented foreign-manufactured weapons in the conflict from China, Iran, Russia, Serbia, and the UAE.
Civil War and Humanitarian Collapse
The Sudanese civil war, now in its third year, pits the regular army against the RSF, a powerful paramilitary group that once served as a government ally under ousted strongman Omar al-Bashir. The RSF has been accused of mass atrocities, particularly in the Darfur region.
Despite recent battlefield losses—including the recapture of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri by the SAF—the RSF maintains control over large swathes of western Sudan. The U.N. estimates over 24,000 people have been killed and 11 million displaced since fighting began in April 2023.
Sudan’s government recently brought a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of complicity in genocide for allegedly supplying the RSF with weapons. The case was dismissed as the UAE has not ratified Article 9 of the Genocide Convention.
Calls for Transparency and Accountability
While Kenya has insisted that its engagement with General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), leader of the RSF, was aimed at promoting peace, its denials have not quelled suspicions.
The discovery of Kenyan-labelled ammunition has intensified demands for greater transparency in African arms transfers, especially as several states—including Chad and the UAE—are increasingly accused of acting as intermediaries in supplying Sudan’s warring factions.
With both sides accused of war crimes, international attention is now focused on cutting off illicit arms supplies and ensuring regional actors are not fueling one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
