February 15, 2008 (HONG KONG) — China has exported more advanced weapon systems to Sudan.
TV video footage of a military parade during the 52nd anniversary of Sudanese independence last year shows that the country already had new-generation Chinese T96 and upgraded T59D main battle tanks and T92 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles fitted with Russian 2A72 30-mm cannon guns.
China acquired the technology from Russia to produce 2A72 30-mm cannon guns, which is believed to have been used to upgrade the Chinese PLA ground forces’ T86 infantry fighting vehicles, or IFVs. Installing 2A72 guns on T92 wheeled IFVs for export to Sudan is a recent development. So far the T-92 wheeled IFVs have been known to be provided only to the Chinese No.38 Group Army.
This appears to be the first time China has exported T92 wheeled IFVs and T96 MBTs to an African nation. The technological standard of this equipment is far superior to ground force equipment China has previously exported to Africa.
At the International Defense Exhibition and Conference 2007 held in Abu Dhabi last year, China introduced the upgraded variant of the T59D tank. African countries that are now using T59 tanks include Zambia and Tanzania.
In recent years, China has largely reinforced military cooperation with African countries through the strategy of trading oil for weapons. Both Sudan and Nigeria have purchased China-made F7M fighters. In 2005 Sudan exported to China 6.62 million tons of crude oil, about 5.2 percent of China’s total oil imports that year. China has a 40-percent stake in Sudan’s largest international oil consortium.
Other Chinese weapons currently in service in the Sudanese forces include Type 54 122-mm howitzers, Type 59-I 130-mm cannons, Type 81 122-mm rocket guns, Type 59 57-mm air-defense guns, mortars of different calibers, eight J-6 fighters and a number of J-7M fighters.
Sudan has also expressed interest in purchasing 12 Chinese FC1 fighters, and the two sides are now negotiating technical details of the deal. In 1996 Sudan purchased six F7M fighters from China, and another two Y8 transport aircraft are also in service. Western military observers believe that those Chinese weapons were paid for with Sudanese oil.
The Sudan military parade in 2007 had a strong Chinese color, as most of the armored weapons were from China. The same parade revealed that the Sudan air force had Chinese-made K8 military trainers. Three K8 trainers and three MiG-29s flew over the capital during the parade. Images from the parade have revealed to the world that the Sudanese army resembles a second Chinese Liberation Army.
(UPI)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Gunmen block Darfur refugees at Chad Border - UN
February 15, 2008 (N’DJAMENA) — Unknown armed men prevented humanitarian workers from moving traumatized, new arrivals from Darfur away from Chad’s volatile border with Sudan, the U.N. refugee agency reported Friday.
On Tuesday, gunmen blocked a group of about 1,000 refugees from boarding trucks. They are among some 8,000 refugees who have fled across the border since Sudan bombed three border towns last week.
It was unclear if the move was connected to Chad’s threat on Monday to expel Sudanese refugees if the international community failed to move them out of the Central African nation. Analysts had seen the threat as a ploy to encourage a speedy deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force being sent to protect more than half a million refugees in a volatile triangle where the borders of Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic meet.
"The newly arrived refugees are exhausted. Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families," said a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
Spokeswoman Helene Caux said the agency had trucks ready to move the refugees to the relative safety of a camp. But they were awaiting permission from Chad’s government, she said.
Caux said it was impossible to say who the gunmen were. Several armed groups operate along Chad’s border with Sudan.
Chadian President Idriss Deby declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, with a midnight to dawn curfew. He also banned most meeting and set limits on what the media can publish, measures he said were needed to restore order after the rebel attacks.
The rebels attacked the capital, N’Djamena, on Feb. 2-3, fighting to oust Deby, whom they accuse of corruption and embezzling millions in oil revenue. After a weekend of fighting in which clashes reached the gate of the presidential palace, Chad’s army repelled the rebels from N’Djamena and pursued them eastward toward the Sudanese border.
Deby said the emergency measures would be in place for 15 days, starting Friday, as allowed in Chad’s constitution. After 15 days, Chad’s national assembly can decide whether to allow an extension.
His declaration also gives extra powers to regional governors to control the movement of people and vehicles.
(ST)
On Tuesday, gunmen blocked a group of about 1,000 refugees from boarding trucks. They are among some 8,000 refugees who have fled across the border since Sudan bombed three border towns last week.
It was unclear if the move was connected to Chad’s threat on Monday to expel Sudanese refugees if the international community failed to move them out of the Central African nation. Analysts had seen the threat as a ploy to encourage a speedy deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force being sent to protect more than half a million refugees in a volatile triangle where the borders of Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic meet.
"The newly arrived refugees are exhausted. Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families," said a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
Spokeswoman Helene Caux said the agency had trucks ready to move the refugees to the relative safety of a camp. But they were awaiting permission from Chad’s government, she said.
Caux said it was impossible to say who the gunmen were. Several armed groups operate along Chad’s border with Sudan.
Chadian President Idriss Deby declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, with a midnight to dawn curfew. He also banned most meeting and set limits on what the media can publish, measures he said were needed to restore order after the rebel attacks.
The rebels attacked the capital, N’Djamena, on Feb. 2-3, fighting to oust Deby, whom they accuse of corruption and embezzling millions in oil revenue. After a weekend of fighting in which clashes reached the gate of the presidential palace, Chad’s army repelled the rebels from N’Djamena and pursued them eastward toward the Sudanese border.
Deby said the emergency measures would be in place for 15 days, starting Friday, as allowed in Chad’s constitution. After 15 days, Chad’s national assembly can decide whether to allow an extension.
His declaration also gives extra powers to regional governors to control the movement of people and vehicles.
(ST)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Darfur towns burned in government attacks: U.N.
By Andrew Heavens
Tue Feb 12, 7:17 AM ET
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a U.N. reconnaissance mission to the region said on Tuesday.
The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive. Aid group MSF Switzerland said a small number of its staff had gone missing after the attacks.
Sudan said its forces attacked the western towns of Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia on Friday to clear out fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The U.N.'s refugee agency said at least 12,000 Darfuris fled into neighboring Chad to escape the violence. Residents, who claimed there were no rebels present in the towns, said 47 people were killed in one settlement alone.
A U.N. assessment mission to Abu Surouj and Sirba found buildings burned to the ground and reports of sustained air and ground assaults.
"Both places were partially burned down," said the source close to the U.N./African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) which took part in the investigation mission that ended its trip late Monday.
"We confirmed that they were attacked on February 8. Helicopter gunships were seen. Antonov aircraft were seen. Witnesses said they were also attacked by men riding on horseback accompanied by vehicles."
Residents left in Sirba had been too scared to talk openly to the investigation mission because of the presence of Sudanese army soldiers, said the source, adding that the team had not managed to visit the third settlement of Suleia.
Chad threatened on Monday to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur, saying their presence was triggering insecurity.
RED CROSS WORKED KILLED
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday confirmed earlier reports that one of its Sudanese staff members had died during the assault on Suleia.
The 45-year-old father-of-six was killed inside the ICRC's office in the town, said the organization, adding that it was planning to investigate the incident "as security conditions permit."
"The ICRC extends its condolences to the family of the victim, who was not only a colleague but also a friend," said a spokesperson. "His death is a loss for the entire organization."
Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday said their access to west Darfur had been severely hampered for weeks by increasing unrest.
"This is the biggest and deadliest attack in many, many months," said one aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for MSF Switzerland said the organization was still trying to trace staff that had been based in Suleia. "Most of our workers managed to get into Chad but we haven't been able to confirm the location of a small number of them," he said.
West Darfuris have been caught up in increasingly violent clashes involving Sudan's Armed Forces, insurgent groups, and the forces of neighboring Chad. The Chadian airforce in January bombed positions in West Darfur it said were held by Chadian rebels supported by Khartoum.
The increased Chadian involvement has brought additional turmoil to a region torn apart by almost five years of conflict.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in fighting since early 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur, accusing the government of neglect.
Khartoum says 9,000 have died and accuses the West of exaggerating the scale of the conflict and the casualties.
(Editing by Keith Weir)
Tue Feb 12, 7:17 AM ET
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a U.N. reconnaissance mission to the region said on Tuesday.
The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive. Aid group MSF Switzerland said a small number of its staff had gone missing after the attacks.
Sudan said its forces attacked the western towns of Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia on Friday to clear out fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The U.N.'s refugee agency said at least 12,000 Darfuris fled into neighboring Chad to escape the violence. Residents, who claimed there were no rebels present in the towns, said 47 people were killed in one settlement alone.
A U.N. assessment mission to Abu Surouj and Sirba found buildings burned to the ground and reports of sustained air and ground assaults.
"Both places were partially burned down," said the source close to the U.N./African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) which took part in the investigation mission that ended its trip late Monday.
"We confirmed that they were attacked on February 8. Helicopter gunships were seen. Antonov aircraft were seen. Witnesses said they were also attacked by men riding on horseback accompanied by vehicles."
Residents left in Sirba had been too scared to talk openly to the investigation mission because of the presence of Sudanese army soldiers, said the source, adding that the team had not managed to visit the third settlement of Suleia.
Chad threatened on Monday to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur, saying their presence was triggering insecurity.
RED CROSS WORKED KILLED
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday confirmed earlier reports that one of its Sudanese staff members had died during the assault on Suleia.
The 45-year-old father-of-six was killed inside the ICRC's office in the town, said the organization, adding that it was planning to investigate the incident "as security conditions permit."
"The ICRC extends its condolences to the family of the victim, who was not only a colleague but also a friend," said a spokesperson. "His death is a loss for the entire organization."
Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday said their access to west Darfur had been severely hampered for weeks by increasing unrest.
"This is the biggest and deadliest attack in many, many months," said one aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for MSF Switzerland said the organization was still trying to trace staff that had been based in Suleia. "Most of our workers managed to get into Chad but we haven't been able to confirm the location of a small number of them," he said.
West Darfuris have been caught up in increasingly violent clashes involving Sudan's Armed Forces, insurgent groups, and the forces of neighboring Chad. The Chadian airforce in January bombed positions in West Darfur it said were held by Chadian rebels supported by Khartoum.
The increased Chadian involvement has brought additional turmoil to a region torn apart by almost five years of conflict.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in fighting since early 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur, accusing the government of neglect.
Khartoum says 9,000 have died and accuses the West of exaggerating the scale of the conflict and the casualties.
(Editing by Keith Weir)
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