12 March 2015 by Oscar Nkala - defenceWeb

A new United Nations Panel of Experts report on the Libyan arms embargo has singled out the Sudanese and Egyptian governments as being among the top foreign arms suppliers accused of fuelling the Libyan civil war through the transfer and sale of small arms, ammunition and aircraft to the government and rebel militias.

In a comprehensive report released on February 23, experts said companies from the Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Jordan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey are arming different factions in Libyan in violation of a United Nations arms embargo imposed in 2011.

It says although the UN allows the sale of weapons to Libya subject to approval by the Security Council, an analysis of transfers done between 2011 and August 2014 shows that most deals violated the arms embargo as the parties never sought UN permission for sales.

"Analysis of all such notifications shows that large quantities of materiel were subject to the notification process, including more than 60 000 handguns, 65 000 assault rifles, 15 000 sub-machine guns and 4 000 machine guns of various calibres, as well as more than 60 million rounds of ammunition for small arms and machine guns (9x19 mm to 14.5 mm).

"However, in the absence of any post-delivery notification system until recently, it is difficult to assess how much notified materiel has actually been transferred to Libya," the report says.

The report notes that neighbours Sudan and Egypt have escalated the supply of military equipment to opposing sides since the outbreak of full-scale civil war in May last year: "Interviews with Libyan officials, representatives of intelligence services and diplomats indicate that Egypt has been supporting the House of Representatives in Tobruk, including through the transfer of military materiel to Karama (militias) and/or the Libyan army. In addition, the Panel noted a statement by a Pentagon spokesperson and media reports regarding the involvement of Egypt in airstrikes operated in Libya in August 2014," reads part of the report.

The panel said confidential sources in Libya also confirmed the offloading of a large quantities of Egyptian-sourced small arms, ammunition and light weapons by an Egyptian vessel which docked in the military section of the port of Tobruk sometime in October last year.

Another convoy of Egyptian military supplies is reported to have entered Libya by road in the third week of September 2014. The panel said despite denials from the government in Cairo, it has evidence which proves that the Egyptian Air Force has transferred at least two Mi-8 helicopters and some refurbished MiG-21 fighter jets to the Tobruk-based Libyan government faction.

"A number of new aircraft are in use in the Libyan air force, including some whose features appear to be consistent with aircraft used by the Egyptian air force, such as some MiG-21MF aeroplanes and a Mi-8 helicopter. For example, the identity features of the Mi-8 helicopter were obviously concealed on purpose and painted over, but the locations of these exactly match those of Egyptian aircraft.

"The Panel wrote to Egypt asking whether Egypt had ever transferred the Mi-8 helicopter to Libya. In its response, Egypt stated that it had not provided Libya with any Mi-8 helicopters nor any MiG-21MF aeroplanes. However, the Panel concludes from the analysis above that this Mi-8 helicopter is originally from the Egyptian fleet," the report says.

The UN said Sudan remains the principal supplier of military materials and weapons to the Fajr Libya militant group, a pro-government militia which has controlled Mitiga airport since the revolution.

"Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2014, the Sudan has been transferring military materiel to Libya in violation of the arms embargo. Interviews with knowledgeable Libyan and foreign sources indicate that the Sudan has been supporting armed groups aligned with Fajr Libya, including through the transfer of military materiel by air to Mitiga airport. The arrival of a Sudanese Air Force C-130 aircraft was reported on several occasions on social media platforms during the past six months (June to December 2014)," the report said.

Libyan air force aircraft are alleged to have made numerous trips to from Sudan to the Mitiga airport carrying military supplies. In addition, Sudan is also accused of transferring an unknown number of Mi-24 helicopters to the Libyan Air Force. The report also accused the Qatari government of heavy involvement in the Libyan civil war through the provision of weapons, financial and logistical support to anti-government militias.

The panel said it is presently investigating allegations that a military aircraft from the Middle Eastern nation delivered an unknown consignment of goods in late 2014 but the lack of government co-operation is stalling investigations. The report also accuses Turkey of supplying arms, ammunition and financing to anti-government armed groups.

Other shady weapons transfers to Libya include the sale of 3 000 tonnes of ammunition to the Ministry of Defence by Belarus. The order included 10 million rounds of 7.62x39 mm ammunition, 15 million rounds of 7.62x54 mm ammunition, 7.2 million rounds of 12.7x108 mm ammunition, 4.25 million rounds of 14.5x114 mm ammunition and 3 million rounds of 23 mm ammunition.

The panel noted that most of the material was seized on arrival at Tripoli International Airport by militia brigades while some of the deliveries appear to have been made directly to autonomous armed groups. Belarus is also accused of delivering part of the consignment directly to the Zintan brigades militia on February 6, 2014.

The report also notes the November 2014 seizure of a Ukrainian cargo vessel in Greece after it was found to be loaded with more than 32 million rounds of ammunition for assault rifles and machine guns for delivery to the government forces in Tripoli.

According to the report, EU Border Assistance Mission to Libya (EUBAM) lost 70 handguns, 23 assault rifles and more than 42 000 rounds of ammunition when militias ransacked its headquarters at Tripoli International Airport in April last year.

The report said most of the weapons which were delivered to Libya have made their way to Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and parts of the Maghreb where they have considerably increased the military capabilities of militant groups.

Among other recommendations, the panel said the UN Security Council should consider setting up a special maritime taskforce to operate on Libyan waters if the implementation of the arms embargo is to succeed.  

WASHINGTON, 11 avril - RIA Novosti

Les livraisons d'armes à l'Ukraine ne sont pas prioritaires pour le Pentagone, Kiev n'ayant sollicité qu'une aide destinée à son armée essentiellement sous forme de nourriture et de médicaments, a annoncé jeudi soir l'assistant du secrétaire américain à la Défense Derek Chollet.

"Les besoins les plus urgents dont ils (la partie ukrainienne) nous ont informé concernent essentiellement une aide humanitaire: des produits alimentaires et des médicaments, et non des armes", a déclaré le responsable aux sénateurs américains.

Interrogé sur la possibilité de livrer des armes à Kiev "au cas où (le président russe) Vladimir Poutine irait plus loin", l'assistant du chef du Pentagone a répondu: " Oui, mais en ce moment, la priorité est de réagir à leur propre demande, concernant essentiellement des moyens non-létaux".

Selon le responsable, le Pentagone est toujours prêt à aider l'Ukraine à moderniser son armée, à la former sur une base professionnelle, un travail qui était déjà mené avant la crise actuelle.

The Pentagon released its fiscal 2015 budget proposal Tuesday.

Mar. 4, 2014 - By MARCUS WEISGERBER – Defense News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to cut weapon purchases slightly in fiscal 2015, but still plans to invest $153.9 billion for new aircraft, ships, satellites, ground systems and other equipment.

The US Defense Department’s modernization investments — which includes procurement and research-and-development accounts — fell only 3.6 percent despite federal budget caps. The numbers were disclosed in DoD’s $496 billion 2015 budget proposal, which the Obama administration sent to Congress on Tuesday.

Research-and-development accounts in DoD’s base budget were not hit as deeply as expected, falling $1.7 billion, or 2.6 percent from the 2014 enacted spending levels.

Defense leaders for the past year have stressed their desire to protect research-and-development funding, despite defense spending cuts.

Procurement fell a little steeper, falling $3.8 billion, or 4 percent, below the 2014 enacted level.

Moreover, the White House’s “opportunity, growth and security” initiative, which is separate from the Pentagon’s 2015 base budget, includes nearly $4 billion for procurement of military aircraft.

If Congress approves the extra proposal, it would boost Pentagon modernization spending close to the $159.7 billion enacted by Congress in 2014.

The additional proposal includes procurement money for:

■ 26 Boeing Apache helicopters ($600 million).

■ 28 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters ($500 million).

■ 2 Boeing Chinook helicopters ($100 million)

■ 8 Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft ($1.1 billion).

■ 10 Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft ($1.1 billion).

■ 2 Lockheed F-35 joint strike fighters ($300 million).

■ 12 General Atomics MQ-9 UAVs ($200 million).

18 juillet 2013 Ouest-France

La Grande-Bretagne a renoncé à armer les rebelles syriens et n’exclut pas que le président Bachar al Assad puisse rester au pouvoir pendant encore plusieurs années, a-t-on appris, ce jeudi, de sources informées à Londres.

« Il est clair que la Grande-Bretagne ne va pas armer les rebelles, de quelque manière que ce soit », a dit une des sources interrogées en rappelant que le Parlement de Londres avait exigé la semaine dernière d’être consulté au préalable sur cette question.

Des armes qui pourraient tomber dans de mauvaises mains

L’évolution de la position britannique s’explique notamment par l’hostilité de l’opinion publique à un quelconque engagement aux côtés des rebelles syriens et par la crainte de voir les armes envoyées aux insurgés tomber entre les mains de groupes islamistes farouchement anti-occidentaux.

WASHINGTON, 14 juin - RIA Novosti

Les Etats-Unis ont fourni à la Russie des preuves de l'utilisation d'armes chimiques en Syrie, a déclaré jeudi soir aux journalistes le conseiller adjoint à la sécurité nationale du président américain, Ben Rhodes.

"La Russie n'a pas encore accepté le fait que Bachar el-Assad doit partir. Nous avons fourni aux Russes les données dont nous disposons. Nous leur avons déjà transmis nos estimations sur l'usage d'armes chimiques en Syrie. Nous estimons que la Russie ainsi que tous les membres de la communauté internationale doivent être au courant de l'usage d'armes chimiques où que ce soit", a indiqué le conseiller adjoint.

La Maison Blanche a déclaré jeudi avoir obtenu de nouvelles preuves de l'usage d'armes chimiques en Syrie par les troupes gouvernementales. Les services américains estiment qu'entre 100 et 150 personnes ont été tuées par de telles armes.

A la suite de ces informations, le président américain Barack Obama a inclus certains types d'armes dans la liste de l'aide militaire destinée à l'opposition syrienne.

April 21, 2013 Spacewar.com (AFP)

Istanbul - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Sunday said Berlin will have no choice but to accept the lifting of an EU arms embargo on Syria if other European countries push for it.

Germany up to now has opposed providing military support to Syria's rebels, but Britain and France are pushing for the embargo to be allowed to expire at the end of May.

Speaking to journalists in Istanbul after a "Friends of Syria" meeting on Saturday, Westerwelle said the embargo would be discussed when EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg on Monday.

"If there are one or two countries in the European Union who think that there is no risk that arms will fall into the wrong hands," then Germany "will have to respect that," Westerwelle said.

The decision on whether to continue the embargo and sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's regime must be made unanimously by EU members. Monday's talks will also see EU ministers considering a case-by-case easing of an oil embargo against Syria to help the opposition.

Critics of supplying weapons to the rebels fear they will be acquired by radical Islamists. But supporters say arms supplies are needed to boost the standing of moderate groups and the opposition's chances against Assad's better-armed regime.

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced after Saturday's talks that Washington was doubling its financial assistance to Syria's opposition and would expand non-offensive military supplies to the rebels, but ignored calls for arms deliveries.

Westerwelle said the supply of body armour could be considered and welcomed a commitment from the opposition to protect minorities and distance itself from extremism.

"Therefore we are convinced that it makes sense to do more, to step up support for the opposition and that's what we will do," he said.

He also said Germany would boost its aid for Syria's humanitarian crisis by 15 million euros ($19.6 million) to reach a total of 145 million euros.

02/04/2013 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr (AFP)

Le Mali veut acheter à la Russie des hélicoptères, des avions de combat et des véhicules blindés pour combattre les rebelles islamistes dans le nord du pays.

Après l'acquisition de fusils d'assaut kalachnikov, le gouvernement du Mali veut acheter maintenant à la Russie des matériels beaucoup plus... consistants. Du lourd même. Bamako a demandé à Moscou de lui livrer des hélicoptères, des avions de combat et des véhicules blindés pour combattre les rebelles islamistes dans le nord du pays, affirme mardi le quotidien russe Vedomosti. Le Mali veut "des hélicoptères Mi-35 et Mi-17, des avions cargo et des avions de combat, des véhicules blindés BTR-80, des systèmes radar de défense antiaérienne, ainsi que des armes légères et des munitions", a indiqué une source au sein de l'agence publique russe d'exportation d'armements Rosoboronexport, citée par le journal.

En février, la Russie a déjà livré au Mali 3.000 fusils d'assaut kalachnikov, 300 mitrailleuses et des munitions pour un montant total de 12 millions de dollars, dans le cadre d'un contrat conclu en septembre 2012, a précisé cette source. Il n'est pas exclu que de nouveaux contrats sur la livraison d'armes russes, en premier lieu des hélicoptères et des véhicules blindés, au Mali puissent être signés "prochainement", a-t-elle souligné. Le directeur de Rosoboronexport, Anatoli Issaïkine, avait indiqué début mars que l'agence livrait au Mali des armes à feu "en toute légalité". Les autorités maliennes avaient alors fait part de leur intention d'acheter d'autres types de matériel militaire, selon la même source.

Et la France ?

Une opération militaire multinationale à laquelle participe la France est en cours depuis janvier au Mali, pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest en proie à une rébellion islamiste armée. Au début de cette opération, des avions cargo russes très gros porteurs Antonov-124 ont effectué au moins 20 vols pour acheminer des matériels militaires de l'armée française au Mali, a indiqué à Vedomosti une source au sein du ministère russe de la Défense. En mai, les Antonov-124 pourraient reprendre leurs vols au Mali pour aider la France - qui a déployé dans ce pays un contingent de 4.000 hommes - à effectuer le retrait d'une partie de ses troupes, selon la même source.