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PRC denies links to bullets used in
Darfur attacks
AFP and AP, BEIJING and UNITED NATIONS
China yesterday rejected a UN report that says Chinese bullets were used in
attacks on peacekeepers in Sudan¡¦s troubled Darfur region, calling the charge
¡§groundless.¡¨
¡§It is inappropriate for the relevant panel to make groundless accusations
against member states on the basis of unconfirmed information in its annual
report,¡¨ Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu (°¨´Â¦°) told reporters.
The report is being discussed by a UN committee that monitors sanctions against
Sudan, including an arms embargo against the Darfur region, which has been at
war since 2003.
¡§China has been implementing the [UN] Security Council resolutions on sanctions
against Sudan in a comprehensive, earnest and precise manner,¡¨ Ma said during a
regular press briefing.
¡§We urge the panel to be objective and responsible,¡¨ he added.
The Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Sudan met on
Wednesday afternoon and two diplomats familiar with the closed-door
deliberations said China argued that the report by the committee¡¦s panel of
experts should not be sent to the council. One diplomat said China claimed the
panel was unprofessional and flawed, and challenged its methodology.
The envoys said the committee chairman, Austrian Ambassador to the UN Thomas
Mayr-Harting, agreed that the annex to the report would be updated with a letter
to include additional information on sources. However, they said the report
itself would not be changed and would likely be formally sent to the 15-member
council next week.
During the meeting, the diplomats said China got no support from the other
committee members, who include representatives from all 15 council nations.
The council initially imposed an arms embargo on rebels and the
government-allied janjaweed militias in Darfur. In March 2005, it extended the
embargo to include Sudan¡¦s government.
The Darfur conflict began in February 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up
arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum, claiming
discrimination and neglect. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by arming local
nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing the janjaweed on civilian populations ¡X a
charge the government denies.
China¡¦s alleged involvement in supplying ammunition, in violation of UN
sanctions, was first reported by Foreign Policy magazine¡¦s Turtle Bay blog.
According to the two UN diplomats, the panel alleged that more than a dozen
types of Chinese ammunition were used by Sudanese government forces in combat
with rebels in Darfur over the past two years.
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