A UNITED Nations report on the international arms trade has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of shipping Chinese arms to Zimbabwe, a South African newspaper claimed yesterday.
The Mailand Guardiannewspaper said a final report by experts on the DRC, submitted to the UN Security Council last week, says 53 tonnes of Chinese matériel was flown into Zimbabwe from the DRC between August 20th and 22nd last, at a time of growing oppression in the country.
In April, after Zimbabwe's disputed general election, Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe were shipped home after a South African labour movement at Durban port told members not to unload a cargo of arms due to fears they might be used on civilians.
China tried to dock the state-owned vessel in neighbouring countries after getting knocked back in South Africa, but international pressure finally caused an about-turn, and the vessel reportedly returned to China with its cargo. China has not imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe like the EU and US have done since 2002, when evidence that the ruling regime was systematically abusing human rights of opposition members began to surface.
The UN report goes on to allege that the weapons, including bullets, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, were apparently transferred across intermediary countries before arriving in the DRC, where the transfer was handled by the Congolese army.
According to the report the use of intermediary countries is an attempt to conceal the movement of the shipment and avoid a public outcry similar to that which was targeted against China and Zimbabwe's ruling regime last April.