(1 OCTOBER, GENEVA) The armies of Northern and Southern Sudan have been engaging in an arms race since the signing of a peace agreement in 2005, according to a new report from the Small Arms Survey. The report comes amid growing tensions between the parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and fears of a return to North-South armed conflict. The report also notes the likelihood of additional weapons reaching armed groups and militias fomenting conflict in Darfur and within Southern Sudan.
"With ongoing violence in Southern Sudan and Darfur, and mounting tensions between the Northern and Southern governments, persisting arms flows should be a cause for great concern in the international community," said Eric Berman, Small Arms Survey Managing Director.
Key findings of 'Skirting the Law' include the following:
- The SPLA and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have escalated their procurement of small arms and light weapons since 2005.
- The SAF=B9s acquisitions are significantly more sophisticated and in greater volume than those of the SPLA. Its supplies of both heavy weapons systems and small arms and light weapons are dominated by likely government-sponsored transfers from the Russian Federation, Belarus, China, and Iran.
- The SPLA's recent known acquisitions are dominated by transfers from the Ukraine and include three shipments of light and heavy weaponry in 2007=AD08. These shipments were delivered to Kenya but were destined for Southern Sudan.
- A significant portion of the arms held by Darfuri and former Southern Sudanese armed groups and militias can be traced to deliberate supplies by governments in the Horn of Africa, and particularly to Khartoum.
- Neither the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) nor the African Union=ADUnited Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) are currently able to monitor and verify the movement of new arms to Darfur and Southern Sudan, as they are mandated to do.
- UNAMID lacks the necessary procedures and force protection capacity to properly monitor and secure its own weapons imports: the mission now constitutes a growing source of stolen weaponry for non-state groups on all sides in Darfur.
Authored by Mike Lewis, 'Skirting the Law' is the 18th Working Paper from the Small Arms Survey's Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) project. The HSBA generates and disseminates timely, empirical research on small arms, armed violence, and insecurity in Sudan. All Working Papers are available at www.smallarmssurvey.org/sudan
For more information or media interviews, contact Eric Berman, Small Arms Survey Managing Director, at +41 22 90 5777 or eric.berman@smallarmssurvey.org.
For information about the Sudan HSBA Project, contact Claire Mc Evoy, HSBA Project Manager, at +254 738 220 008 or claire.mcevoy@smallarmssurvey.org.