In Darfur, scattered Bulgarian mortar shells point to a broken arms-control regime. Stamped with 2019 factory codes, the weapons ended up on the front lines of the country’s devastating civil war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
On 21 November, 2024, fighters in western Sudan intercepted a weapons convoy near the Libyan border. The footage they captured documented crates of 81mm mortar bombs bearing a code identifying the Bulgarian manufacturer, Dunarit.
Modern weapons were arriving to prolong a brutal conflict without sufficient reporting.
A European Supply Chain
Bulgarian shells are one component of wider European arms supplies.
Evidence points to military hardware from the continent consistently reaching warring factions in Sudan.
Bulgarian Mortars
A France 24 investigation traced mortar bombs in Darfur to a €50 million contract from 2019. A single shipment included over 60,000 mortar bombs of various sizes.
In response to questions, Bulgaria’s Inter-ministerial Commission on Export Control stated it “had not issued an export permit to Sudan.” The government insisted the weapons were sold legally under a strict non-re-export agreement. The weapons reached Sudan regardless.
Dunarit’s chief executive, Petar Petrov, acknowledged his company made the shells, stating, “The regulations on this kind of thing are very strict in Bulgaria… everything in this contract was done according to the rules.”
French Defense Systems
In November 2024, Amnesty International identified French-made military technology on armored vehicles used by the notorious RSF. The Galix defensive system, manufactured by Lacroix Defense and KNDS France, was spotted on personnel carriers captured from the RSF.
“Our research concludes that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s Secretary General. “Any use in Darfur would be a breach of the UN arms embargo.”
The discovery is troubling; French companies delivered an estimated €2.6 billion in military equipment between 2014 and 2023.
British Components
The United Kingdom has also been implicated. Dossiers from the Sudanese Armed Forces presented to the UN Security Council contained evidence of British-made equipment in the hands of the RSF.
The items included small-arms targeting devices from a Welsh company, Militec, and an engine from Cummins Inc. marked “Made in Great Britain” powering an RSF armoured vehicle.
Three months after UN investigators flagged the presence of British equipment in Sudan, London approved a new export license in September 2024 for the same category of military products.
An Embargo on Paper
A steady flow of weaponry persists through a framework of paper restrictions.
The European Union first imposed a comprehensive arms embargo on Sudan in 1994, followed by a United Nations embargo on the Darfur region in 2004.
The problem lies in a policy framework built without enforcement. The EU’s Common Position on arms exports sets legally binding criteria for member states, but defence remains a question of national sovereignty. Brussels has no central authority to enforce the rules.
The evidence from Sudan’s battlefields points to a system built on misplaced trust. Sanctions against those who break end-use agreements are rarely applied, and no working system exists for member states to share information about known weapon diversions.
The Staggering Human Cost
The consequence of policy debates and export licenses is a human catastrophe. The UN describes Sudan’s war as a “crisis of staggering proportions,” worsened by European-made weapons.
More than 30 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, while nearly 25 million—about half the country—endure severe hunger. Almost 13 million have been forced from their homes.
The Rapid Support Forces, equipped with some of the hardware, stand accused of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and enslavement. A UN fact-finding mission also found the RSF has used starvation as a weapon of war.
A Disconnected Response
The EU has responded with targeted sanctions, adopting travel bans and asset freezes against individuals like the RSF’s deputy commander, while officials publicly urge an end to arms supplies.
Sudan's ambassador to the EU, Abdelbagi Kabeir, has pleaded with Brussels to investigate, telling Politico, “The EU should weigh the moral balance over the trade balance.”
The EU recently reviewed its arms export framework, but such measures arrived late. A lack of political will has left the tools to address diversion unused. A former UN specialist told France 24 the transfer of the weapons into Sudan is a violation.
The mortar shells in the hands of fighters accused of war crimes are the true measure of Europe’s export controls.
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Read also:
South Sudan: Justice Delayed, Hunger Not
El Fasher in Crisis: Genocide Under the RSF
Chatham House on Sudan: When Think Tanks Misread Conflicts
