Sudan dismisses reports on Chinese military equipments in Darfur

October 26, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese minister of interior has dismissed as “baseless” reports on the existence of Chinese-made arms and ammunitions in Darfur, saying that such reports were part of a Western political plot to force China to halt cooperation with his country.

Minister Ibrahim Mahmud Suliyman told the UAE-based newspaper Al-Itihad that “those talking about the presence of weapons in Darfur are the same people who supply weapons to the rebel movements in the region.”

For its part, China has strongly protested reports of the UN-AU Hybrid Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur [UNAMID] that Chinese-made weapons were used against its forces in Darfur. The spokesman of China’s foreign ministry, Ma Zhaoxu, described the reports as “unfounded.”

“It is inappropriate for the UN commission to state in its annual report unfounded accusations against UN member states relying on unconfirmed information.” He further added urged the mission “to be objective and responsible.”

Diplomatic sources quoted by the paper said that China is attempting to block the publication of a UN report which noted that Chinese-made ammunition was used against the UNAMID in Darfur.

China, which is a leading investor in Sudan’s oil and a close ally of the government, has long faced accusations of exporting arms to Sudan despite the UN embargo on arms supplies to Sudan.

A BBC report in 2008 claimed it had evidences that China was fuelling war in Darfur by supplying military equipments to the Sudanese government there.

(ST)