Canadian sniper rifles openly flaunted in Yemen, Sudan, Libya — which are all under arms sanctions

soudan and socialist people's libyan arab jamahiriya ar both below canadian river arms embargoes, while Yemen faces targeted sanctions, precisely because they are home to groups known for committing widespread human rights abuses, torture and mass killings.

"I think it requires action from the Government of Canada."

As reported by The Globe and Mail, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told journalists at the G20 summit in Johannesburg that month, "Believe me, I am looking into this very seriously." But no public action has followed.

In a statement, GAC said Canada maintains an embargo against Sudan and that there had been "no exceptions" to its risk assessment process on arms exports.

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"It is one of the most striking examples where we can clearly see the fighter holding the Canadian weapon as he hits the captive, committing clear abuses," said Sebastian Vandermeersch, a researcher from Bellingcat.

Although shared recently, the video from Sudan was likely filmed in June 2024, when the RSF captured Jebel Moya, a region south of the capital, Khartoum.

Bellingcat was able to geolocate the video to the area and also identified additional videos from Jebel Moya featuring detainees being subjected to degrading treatment, such as being forced to mimic animal sounds or pledge allegiance to the RSF.

The store is run by three brothers, including an arms dealer named Ibrahim, who advertises his inventory on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. In a 2024 video, Ibrahim is seen firing a rifle into a water reservoir just a 30-minute drive west of Sanaa.

Describing the gun as a "unique piece," the dealer said "we smuggle it" into the country.

Both dealers offered to supply other brand-new weapons from China, Russia and the United States.

A serial number "would allow independent researchers or law enforcement to track when and where a weapon system was diverted," said Gallagher of Project Ploughshares.

Wolfram Lacher, a Libya researcher from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, identified the insignia of the Judicial Security Apparatus on the same social media page that originally shared images that included the Sterling Cross rifle. Lacher said the unit is "a spinoff of a larger group" called the Special Deterrence Force, or RADA.

"This was actually an area that was being fought over both in 2022 and in 2025," said Lacher. "This group, the Special Deterrence Force, was involved in these conflicts."

The Special Deterrence Force also controls the Mitiga prison, which has "has been notorious for abuses, for torture and for arbitrary detention," he said.

Prison conditions were so severe that the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against RADA leaders for crimes against humanity.

Canada has prohibited arms exports to Libya. Previous investigations have implicated the Streit Group, a Canadian-owned armoured vehicle manufacturer, in the illicit transfer of equipment to Libyan factions via the United Arab Emirates.

While it’s not certain how these weapons ended up in these countries, experts point to the United Arab Emirates as a central player in rerouting weapons to military groups across the region.

"The thread that binds these three cases together is that you have U.A.E. Support for clients in these conflicts. These are three cases where the U.A.E. Is known to have massively supplied weapons," said Lacher. 

"The stakeholders that the U.A.E. Support are generally problematic to begin with," said Emadeddin Badi, a senior fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. "These are non-state armed groups with a track record of brutality and crimes against humanity."

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The U.A.E., has in the past, denied any involvement in Sudan and Libya. In 2025, it also said it would withdraw its forces from Yemen.

Government reports on arms exports indicate 113 rifles were shipped from Canada to the U.A.E. In 2019 and 2020. 

In March 2019, Sterling Cross posted an image on Instagram of roughly 80 XLCR rifles being inspected before delivery.

"These weapon systems are procured for a reason," Gallagher said. "The government of Canada has to keep stringent controls... Otherwise we see their illicit proliferation in the region."

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