The Galix defense system, developed by Lacroix Defense and KNDS France, is being used in Sudan in a way that may violate the UN arms embargo. Military equipment built in France is being used in Sudan on armored vehicles supplied by the UAE, in “violation of the UN arms embargo” on the Darfur region, Amnesty International said Thursday.
Armored personnel carriers (APCs) built and supplied by the United Arab Emirates and spotted by Amnesty in Sudan were fitted with Galix defence systems — made in France by companies KNDS and Lacroix. Amnesty International has identified the Galix system on armored vehicles imported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. The RSF is a paramilitary group that’s fighting against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the civil war that broke out in April 2023.
“Our research shows that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan,” Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
The Galix system is a defense system for land forces that uses decoys, smoke, and projectiles to counter close-range threats. It’s designed to protect vehicles, main battle tanks, and APCs.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in Sudan’s civil war, which pits the country’s army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, a former ally. The UN has had an arms embargo in place on Sudan’s Darfur region since 2004. Amnesty International says that using the Galix system in Darfur would be a clear breach of the embargo. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, and more than 11 million people have been forced from their homes in what the UN calls the world’s worst displacement crisis.
The conflict in Sudan has nevertheless been overshadowed internationally by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The French-made Galix system has been spotted mounted on Nimr Ajban APCs supplied by the Emirates to the RSF, Amnesty said, also providing pictures of destroyed vehicles fitted with the system.
Galix is made up of sensors connected to a battery of launchers which can be loaded with ammunition such as smoke, decoys or projectiles, Lacroix says on its website. “The Galix suite is not only for the purpose of self-defence (passive action) but also to actively neutralise hostile personnel,” the company states.
“Any use (of Galix) in Darfur would be a clear breach of the UN arms embargo,” Callamard said, calling on Paris to “immediately stop the supply of this system to the UAE” by the manufacturers.
Galix is fitted to more than 5,000 military vehicles worldwide, including some used by the French army.
A United Nations arms embargo has been in place on Sudan’s Darfur region since 2004. Amnesty International is calling on the French government to ensure that Lacroix Defense and KNDS France stop supplying the Galix system to the UAE. They’re also calling for the UN Security Council to expand the arms embargo to the rest of Sudan.
“If France cannot guarantee through export controls, including end user certification, that arms will not be re-exported to Sudan, it should not authorise” exports to countries such as the UAE, the group said.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan. The resolution, known as 2724, was adopted with an overwhelming majority, signaling the international community’s grave concern over the ongoing conflict that has led to a severe humanitarian crisis.