| Author |
Message |
    
Serenasailor
Veteran Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 1574
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 11:47 pm: | 
|
BEIJING - China and Russia are supplying arms to Sudan that are being used to fuel the violence in the Darfur region in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, a human rights group said in a report Tuesday. China and Russia quickly rejected the report and Sudan's government said it was "not justified."
ADVERTISEMENT
"The irresponsible transfer of arms to Sudan and its neighbors are a significant factor in the massive human rights catastrophe in Darfur and its spread into eastern Chad," London-based Amnesty International said.
The report said "the bulk" of the arms were transferred from China and Russia, without giving specific, up-to-date figures.
It said Beijing and Moscow should have been aware that their military equipment was "deployed by the Sudanese armed forces and militia for direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks in Darfur."
Sudanese government spokesman Bakri Mulah denied the report's accusations, calling its claims "not justified."
"The report is totally incorrect. ... It is the sort of claim that has no material proof," Mulah said during a telephone interview from Khartoum.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Chinese sales to African nations were "very limited and small in scale" but refused to say whether any were being made to Sudan.
Jiang said China's weapons sales to Africa were made to sovereign nations and not individuals, and that the resale of Chinese weapons to third parties was forbidden. She said China does not sell arms to regions under U.N. embargo.
In March 2005, the Security Council extended an arms embargo already in force in Darfur for the rebels and the janjaweed to include Sudan's government.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "no Russian weapons have been shipped to Darfur."
"Russia's military and technical cooperation with other countries is in line with international rules and norms. Russia has fully abided by the provisions of resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, which ban arms shipments to Darfur," the ministry said.
The Amnesty report said the group was particularly concerned about Russian Mi-24 helicopter gunships acquired by Sudan's air force that were allegedly being used to launch attacks in Darfur.
A photo, allegedly from March, of three Chinese "Fantan" fighter jets on the tarmac of an airport in Nyala, the capital of the southern Darfur region, was also in the report. It said the aircraft were "specifically designed to be used for ground attack operations."
Amnesty said it was "deeply dismayed" that China and Russia were allowing their "ongoing flows of arms" to be diverted for the conflict in Darfur and in Chad.
The conflict has now spilled over into neighboring Chad and Central African Republic.
Jiang said that "in conducting arms sales to Africa, we carefully consider the local area's situation and development model and stick to the spirit of protecting local peace and stability."
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million made refugees in Darfur since 2003, when ethnically African rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated central government. Khartoum is accused of arming the janjaweed as a counterinsurgency tactic — a charge the government denies.
|
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 4362
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2007 - 11:17 am: |
|
By the way who is it who keeps giving arms to the Darfur rebels that keeps it going--could it be France and the US? |
Serenasailor
Veteran Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 1580
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2007 - 02:56 pm: |
|
Yes plus I originally heard that it was the Germans who initally supplied the Arab north with these weapons. |
|
Email This Page