'Unprecedented': European govts sold $1.3bn in
arms to Middle East, some ended up with ISIS - report
Published time: 27 Jul, 2016 16:33
© Nour Kelze / Reuters
Governments of Central and Eastern European countries have been selling
an “unprecedented” amount of weapons and ammunition to the Middle East in
recent years, fueling armed conflicts in the troubled region, a new report
claims.
According to the findings by a team of reporters from the Balkan
Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Organized Crime and Corruption
Reporting Project (OCCRP), a group of European countries led by Croatia and the
Czech Republic have been channeling their arms to the region since 2012.
Since then, they have gained over US$1 billion from such sales, despite
some of the weapons ending up in the hands of Islamic State (IS, formerly
ISIS/ISIL) terrorists, according to the report, which was published earlier on
Wednesday.
The report, titled 'Making a Killing: The
1.2 Billion Euros Arms Pipeline to Middle East,' is the result of a
year-long investigation.
It reveals “for the first time” that dozens of airplanes have
been taking off from airfields in Eastern Europe, carrying deadly cargo "to
Middle Eastern states and Turkey which, in turn, funneled arms into brutal
civil wars in Syria and Yemen."
Governments of the selling countries have been well aware of where their
exports are ending up, the report claims.
"Arms export licenses, which are supposed to guarantee the final
destination of the goods, have been granted despite ample evidence that weapons
are being diverted to Syrian and other armed groups accused of widespread human
rights abuses and atrocities," the report states, adding that experts
who reviewed the evidence collected during the investigation agreed the trade
was "almost certainly illegal."
"The evidence points towards systematic diversion of weapons to
armed groups accused of committing serious human rights violations. If this is
the case, the transfers are illegal under the ATT (United Nations’ Arms Trade
Treaty) and other international law," said Patrick Wilcken, an arms
control researcher at Amnesty International, as quoted by the report.
00
Rebel fighters from 'Mujahideen Horan brigade' stand on pick-up trucks
mounted with anti-aircraft weapons as they take part in military training in
the western rural area of Deraa Governorate, Syria June 19, 2016. © Alaa
Al-Faqir / Reuters
Most of the weapons are sent to Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf kingdom
having secured some 18,500 rocket launchers, 10,000 AK-47 guns, 300 tanks, and
250 anti-aircraft guns, among other weapons and ammunition from eight Central
and Eastern European countries.
Those countries include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the
Czech Republic, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, the weapons are also being sent to Jordan,
the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.
"The four recipient countries are key arms suppliers to Syria
and Yemen," the report states, adding that they had "little or
no history of buying from Central and Eastern Europe prior to 2012,"
when armed conflicts began to escalate in the region.
"[T]he pace of the transfers is not slowing, with some of the
biggest deals approved in 2015," BIRN and the OCCRP warned.
00
Rebel fighters from 'Mujahideen Horan brigade' carry their weapons as
they take part in military training in the western rural area of Deraa
Governorate, Syria June 19, 2016. © Alaa Al-Faqir / Reuters
After the deadly cargo lands in the four Middle Eastern countries, it is
then directed to Syria, according to the report. The weapons and ammunition are
"routed through two secret command facilities, called Military
Operation Centers (MOC) in Jordan and Turkey," it claims, citing the
former US ambassador to Syria, Robert Stephen Ford.
From the MOCs, arms are reportedly delivered by land to the Syrian
border, or air-dropped by military planes. Some of those are reportedly
intended for use by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), according to one of its
commanders from Aleppo, who told BIRN and OCCRP that the weapons were
distributed from centrally controlled headquarters in Syria.
"We don't care about the country of origin, we just know it is
from Eastern Europe," said the FSA commander, who asked to remain
anonymous to protect his safety.
The investigation team has identified Eastern and Central European
weapons and ammunition in the hands of FSA fighters in more than 50 videos and
photos posted on social media, the report says, adding that some terrorist
groups – including Al-Nusra Front and Islamic State – are also apparently in
possession of such weapons.
"Markings on some of the weapons identifying the origin and date
of production reveal significant quantities have come off production lines as
recently as 2015," the report says.
Weapons originating from the Central and Eastern European countries have
also been air-dropped by the Saudis to their allies in Yemen.
Saudi Coalition Airstrikes Target Civilian Factories in Yemenhttp://bit.ly/29Oa3Xh
According to Ford, the trade of weapons is "coordinated by the
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Turkey, and Gulf states through centers
in Jordan and Turkey." But in reality, that process is "often"
bypassed, he said.
Yet Washington's role in providing the European weapons to conflict
zones might be bigger than that, according to the report, which claims that the
US has directly bought "military material" from Eastern Europe
and delivered it in "vast quantities" to Syria through its Department
of Defense Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
"[A]s part of the covert supply of weapons to Syria,"
SOCOM has commissioned several cargo ships from ports in Romania and Bulgaria
to deliver some 4,700 tons of arms and ammunition, including heavy machine
guns, rocket launchers, mortars, and grenades.
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