Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Rebel fighter in Darfur photographed on 9 December, 2007. AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou
China

China attempts to block UN report on ammunition to Sudan

Report alleges Chinese ammunition was sent to Darfur, despite UN arms embargo.

CHINA IS TRYING TO PREVENT the release of a UN report which claims the country supplied ammunition to Darfur, despite an arms embargo.

The report also claims that Chinese bullets were used in an attack on UN and African Union peacekeepers in the troubled north-east African nation.

The Guardian reports that Chinese officials have dismissed the UN report as irresponsible and inappropriate. China argues that there is not enough evidence to show it has broken the sanctions, suggesting the bullets were bought before the 2005 embargo.

However, the report claims that bullet casings found in Darfur were produced in China after 2009, according to the Guardian.

The BBC says that the UN’s report, produced by a panel of experts, was intended for publication after being presented to the Security Council.

Sudan’s president Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. He denies the charges.

No total embargo

The Financial Times writes that seven years of war in Darfur have killed hundreds and thousands of people. Millions more have been displaced from their homes.

The paper writes that the UN’s embargo only covers Darfur – suppliers must get assurances from Sudan’s government that weapons will not be used in Darfur.

A complete embargo on supplying Sudan would not be supported by China, the FT writes.

The UN estimates that 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003.