From the AFP:
A BBC report alleging that China is breaking a United Nations arms embargo on Sudan is biased, the Chinese special envoy to Darfur said in comments published here on Tuesday.
Envoy Liu Guijin said China’s arms sales to Sudan were only small scale and that the trade in military equipment was not fuelling the conflict in Darfur, according to the China Daily newspaper. […]
“China’s arms sales were very small scale and never made to non-sovereign entities. We have strict end-user certificates.”
The BBC broadcast a programme on Monday alleging that China was breaking the UN arms embargo by providing military equipment and training pilots to fly Chinese jets.
In related news, the BBC reports that the UN is pulling back staff from Darfur:
The United Nations is pulling back some non-essential staff deployed in Sudan’s restive Darfur region. It says the decision comes after recent violence and as a precaution after an international prosecutor accused Sudan’s president of genocide. Judges at the International Criminal Court have still to decide if there are reasonable grounds to issue an arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir.
Mr Bashir is quoted by Reuters as saying the accusations are lies.
On 8 July, seven Unamid peacekeepers were killed and 22 injured, seven critically, when they were attacked by heavily armed militia in northern Darfur.
A UN peacekeeping official told the BBC News website the decision to move non-essential UN staff temporarily to locations out of the country – many to Entebbe in Uganda – had been taken after that incident, and as a prudent measure in anticipation of possible Sudanese reaction to the prosecutor’s announcement that he is seeking a warrant against Mr Bashir.
Also see related CDT posts:
* China ‘Is Fuelling War in Darfur’
* Spotlight on China as Sudanese President is Indicted
