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Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research.
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Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here www.bellingcat.com/donate/
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The video report by NTV Kenya can be found here: ntvkenya.co.ke/newsfeatures...
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You can read the reporting by the Daily Nation here: nation.africa/kenya/news/-...
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The RSF still rules huge swathes of Sudan including Darfur in the country’s southwest where violence is causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN. As long as the conflict continues, questions about who is providing weapons and support to the warring sides will remain.
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Our partners at Daily Nation reached out to the MoD of Kenya to ask about the crates we identified and how they ended up in Sudan. In its response, It did not recognize the crates and distanced itself from the allegations. An emphasis that leaves key concerns about the Sudan connection unclear.
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The discovery of the Kenyan-labelled munitions crates is further evidence of Kenya’s political and logistical support to the RSF, Justin Lynch, Managing Director of Conflict Insights Group and Sudan researcher, told Bellingcat
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The confirmation of ammunition crates inside Sudan raises new questions about Kenya’s involvement in the conflict following a high-profile visit by Rapid Support Forces leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to Nairobi earlier this year.
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We found other Kenyan labelled boxes in the depot, allegedly containing PP87 mortar bombs. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have previously reported the use of this Chinese-made weapon in Sudan.
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Although not specified on the crates, this type of cartridge has been manufactured in Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the former Czechoslovakia.
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Chris Cobb-Smith, from Chiron Resources, told us that the crates appear to carry 14.5x114mm cartridges for heavy machine guns and anti-material rifles.
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A Senior Investigator at Conflict Armament Research told us the markings indicate the crates were delivered after 2024 - when the civil war in Sudan was well underway.
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We compared the labels of the crates located near the Khartoum depot with other images of crates circulating of Kenyan munitions reportedly also from Sudan. On the labels, we can see English wording but we are not able to say with certainty the origin or producer of the munitions.
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Another video that could be geolocated approximately 150m from the one showing Al-Makki, we identified a second young soldier. Both appear to have been in the depot during the same time as the operation in Salha.
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Using social media, we identified soldiers seen in the depot next to the ammunition. One of them is a major from the SAF’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) as indicated by his uniform insignias and patches seen in two separate videos. His name appears to be Al-Makki Abdul Quddus Ahmed.
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All the videos analysed were posted between May 19 and May 21. We geolocated the soldiers in a market area in Salha. This is consistent with the re-taking of the city by the Sudanese Armed Forces. The SAF declared it had retaken the final areas of resistance in the city on May 20.
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Bellingcat and Daily Nation have identified three videos containing ammunition crates that show labels of the Kenyan Ministry of Defence (MoD) allegedly left behind by the RSF inside an unknown depot most likely in the Salha neighbourhood of Omdurman.
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The stash of ammunition crates located near the capital was filmed by SAF soldiers who took part in the final push to retake Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on May 20. The action has led to much footage and images including ones that appear to show supplies used by the RSF.
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A 2005 UN arms embargo prohibits any country from supplying weapons to Darfur, Sudan, an area that has seen intense fighting since the outbreak of the civil war in 2023. Both sides of the conflict have been accused of war crimes. The UN says more than 24,000 people have been killed.
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We’re also organising a five-day in-person training that will teach digital investigation techniques and provide extensive guided, hands-on practice. The workshop will run over a full week, on June 30 – July 4, 2025 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. www.bellingcat.com/workshops/ju...
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Glad to see you back!
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And if you haven't tried yet, make sure to check out the most recent Bellingcat Challenges, created by @arca-artcrime.bsky.social at challenge.bellingcat.com
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It’s great to see the different ways people tackle the challenges. Be sure to share your findings in our Discord server. If you're posting a blog, write-up, or video about your methods, make sure to tag us we’d love to feature your work in our monthly newsletters! bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com
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Bellingcat is a not-for-profit and our work would not be possible without the kind support of individual donors. Help us continue this work by donating today: www.bellingcat.com/donate/
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Find out which LLM performed best and which one failed at identifying our geolocation challenges more than others here: www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...
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Every model gave at least one wrong location. Hallucinations were common; the risk of hallucinations increased when the scenery was temporary or had changed over time. And models often tried to interpret possible locations from the original poster’s profile, leading to incorrect assumptions.
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The models spotted small clues, such as vegetation, architectural styles or signage. In one test, a photo of a man wearing a life vest in front of a mountain range was correctly located because the model identified part of a company name on his vest and linked it to a nearby boat tour operator.
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We also compared every test with the first 10 results from Google Lens’s ‘visual match’ feature, to assess the difficulty of the tests and the usefulness of LLMs in solving them.
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To assess how LLMs from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Mistral and xAI compare today, we ran 500 geolocation tests, with 20 models each analysing the same set of 25 images. The images varied in difficulty to geolocate and none of them had been published online before.
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Back in 2023, we asked whether AI models could take on open source research. Bellingcat’s fellow, Dennis Kovtun tasked two AI chatbots to geolocate a series of images and discovered that the models needed a lot of handholding to locate the right answer… www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
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What is your favourite open source tool for environment-focused investigations?
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Within our Bellingcat toolkit we have a category for open source tools that can be used for environment and wildlife focused investigations. Find the full list here with independent reviews of each tool from our toolkit maintainers: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/cate...
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Oil spills are another environmental issue that can be detected with satellite imagery. In this guide @wammezz.bsky.social breaks down how Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can be vital for this detection and details useful identification and visualisation toolkits. www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...
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Our 2024 Tech Fellow Agnes Cameron detailed how you can use multispectral satellite imaging to reveal changes to the Earth’s surface that wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye, whether due to mining operations, deforestation, or pollution. www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
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Wildfire season has started; wildfires are burning across Canada, with air quality alerts extended to five US states. @aramshabanian.bsky.social , long time Bellingcat contributor, spoke to us last year about a list of tools for monitoring wildfires in real-time open.spotify.com/episode/3VKF...
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Recently, Cornelia Scholz, a Geo-Information Specialist, wrote a guide on how you can use NASA's Giovanni tool to visualise weather data; mapping anomalies and patterns and the impact extreme weather events have had on local populations and the environment. www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...
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One of our followers commenting on the New ARCA and @bellingcat.com challenge.... "I'll admit I was extra motivated to figure this one out because Google AI Search flat out lied to me and I gave it credence for a whole 30 seconds." I love the engagement on these challenges. challenge.bellingcat.com