War Profiteers

CONTENT WARNING: this article makes references to sexual violence, torture, and other details that some readers may find upsetting.
The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organisation founded in 2014 by former GRU officer Dmitry Utkin and businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, and has been described as “one of Russia’s most influential foreign policy tools”. Since its founding, Wagner Group has become known for its readiness to use extreme levels of violence and brutality during its operations.

Accuracy International (AI) is a British company based in Portsmouth, specialising in the production of high-end, hand built, precision sniper rifles and associated equipment. Weapons manufactured by AI have been used extensively in conflict zones, including states accused of human rights abuses.

An investigation by France24 has found evidence that shotgun cartridges manufactured in Italy and France by the company Cheddite have been used by Iranian security forces against protesters.

CNO Tech is a South Korean arms company, who manufacturer a range of equipment of weapons for military and law enforcement use, including single and multi-shot “riot” launchers...

We are excited to share news of a new website, called War on West Papua. The website identifies a wide-range of weapons and military equipment used by the Indonesian security forces in their ongoing occupation of West Papua.

Activists demand better control on the end-use of Flemish arms exports.

A new database of Israeli military and security exports – www.dimse.info - has been launched. The new database, developed by the American Friends Service Committee, is a tool for journalists, academics, campaigners, and other civil society actors critical of Israel’s arms export and its effect on human rights around the world.

According to a new report published by Centre d’Estudis per la Pau to analyse the way banks, pension funds and insurers are funding the arms industry, the total financing to the arms industry by financial institutions operating in Spain reached nearly €11,969 million between the years 2014 and 2019. The largest armed banks operating in Spain are again BBVA, Santander, ING, Deutsche Bank, Banco Sabadell, Bankia and Caixabank.

The US air force has tested a new non-exploding fragmentation bomb, which it claims may be used as a "less-hazardous alternative" to cluster bombs.

This week marks the non-opening of the world's largest arms fair - Eurosatory - in Paris. Despite the impressive array of fabulously rich backers who look forward to this biennial showcase for the latest and most sophisticated offerings in death and destruction, the salon has been cancelled.

On Wednesday 25th March - the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Saudi-led coalitions war in Yemen - people across Europe have used social media to protest against arms sales to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and other countries involved in the conflict.

Activist in Belgium have successfully stopped a Saudi ship transporting weapons from the US, Canada and Europe from docking in the port of Antwerp.