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Bullets from Greece, China, Russia and United States Found in Rebel Hands in Democratic Republic of Congo

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IANSA
October 16, 2006


New research by the Control Arms Campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)

• Russia, China and US are among key skeptics on Arms Trade Treaty
• Research is just one example of how the uncontrolled arms trade fuels serious human rights abuses

Bullets manufactured in Greece, China, Russia and the USA have been found in the hands of rebel groups in the Ituri District of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is under a UN arms embargo. The research from the Control Arms Campaign underscores the urgent need for an Arms Trade Treaty to stem the flood of arms into conflict zones and is released today, a week before an expected vote at the United Nations on a resolution to start work on the Treaty.

This is believed to be the first time that US and Greek bullets have been recovered from rebel groups in eastern DRC, highlighting the global sources of the arms fuelling fighting in the region. Conducted in September 2006, the research reveals the origins of a sample of arms and ammunition recovered from rebel groups since the imposition of the UN arms embargo in 2003. Small arms made in Russia, China, Serbia and South Africa were also found.

The Campaign believes it is very unlikely that these weapons and bullets were sold directly to rebels in the DRC, which would be a breach of the UN arms embargo. It is more likely that they entered the Ituri District from neighbouring countries, illustrating the need for an Arms Trade Treaty to establish global standards for arms sales based on international law.

"This is just one example of how lax arms controls fuel conflict and suffering worldwide. UN arms embargoes are like dams against tidal waves; alone they can't stop weapons flooding in. Only a tough global Arms Trade Treaty could stem the flow of arms to the world's war zones," said Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International.

A resolution to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty was tabled by seven governments last week at the UN. It was co-sponsored by 77 other governments, with more expected to follow this week. The resolution is likely to be put to a vote in the UN General Assembly's First Committee early next week. The Control Arms Campaign, backed by 20 Nobel Peace Laureates, is calling for an Arms Trade Treaty to ban the international transfer of weapons and other military equipment when there is a clear risk that these will be used to commit gross human rights violations, to fuel conflict or to undermine development.

"Rebel groups in the Eastern DRC have an appalling track record of rape, torture and killing of civilians as well as a history of using children as soldiers. That bullets from so many countries have fuelled these abuses is yet another indication that an Arms Trade Treaty must become a reality," said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

An estimated 3.9 million people have been killed as a result of conflict in the DRC since 1998. Fighting continues in eastern DRC despite a peace deal in 2002, fuelled by weapons and ammunition from around the world. Exactly how the arms identified by researchers found their way to rebels in the Ituri District is not known, but they included:
• Sniper rifle bullets manufactured by the Federal Cartridge Company in the USA.
• Rifle bullets manufactured by the Pyrkal Greek Powder & Cartridge Company in the late 1980s.
• An R4 assault rifle manufactured in South Africa.
• Chinese assault rifles, and a Serbian pistol, which were all damaged, suggesting that they had been buried or stored in wet conditions. 50 to 60 per cent of weapons used in the DRC are believed to be AK-47s.

"With 1000 people dying every day from gun violence, governments can no longer ignore this horror story that repeats itself from Congo to Colombia to Iraq. It is time for an Arms Trade Treaty to stop these weapons from falling into the wrong hands," said Charles Nasibu, Congolese small arms researcher, activist and member of IANSA.

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In September 2006, Control Arms researchers visited compounds in Bunia (in the Ituri District of eastern DRC) to obtain photographic evidence of munitions and weapons recovered from rebel forces since the imposition of the UN arms embargo in July 2003. This followed a previous field mission to Ituri in November 2005 to help identify weapon sources. Armed groups in the Ituri District and neighbouring Kivu Provinces have been subject to various arms embargoes, including by the EU (imposed in April 1993) and the UN since July 2003.

The serial numbers and relevant markings, including head-stamps on ammunition cartridges and markings on rifles, have been identified by international munitions experts and reveal small arms and ammunition manufactured by China, Greece, Russia, South Africa, Serbia and the US .

US ammunition:

Most surprising is the identification in September 2006 of ammunition that has US markings on them. These rounds have been identified as .300 Winchester Magnum cartridges manufactured by the Federal Cartridge Company. The US State Department has confirmed to the Control Arms Campaign that such ammunition would be subject to US licensing regulations and is currently investigating how bullets of US origin have ended up in the hands of rebel groups in the DRC. In 2003 the UN recovered some US grenades from armed groups in Ituri.

Under US law, the DRC has been ineligible to receive weapons since 1993, except for peacekeeping purposes. This is in addition to the current UN embargo restrictions. It is therefore very likely that the ammunition was legally exported to another country in the region and then diverted to the DRC. An analysis of US customs data reveals that since 2000, the US government has licensed small arms ammunition to Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Greek ammunition:

As far as the Control Arms campaign is aware, this is the first time Greek bullets have been recovered from the hands of rebel fighters in the DRC. Bullets found by the researchers have been identified as being 7.62mm cartridges, suitable for use in NATO standard caliber assault rifles such as the HK G3 or Belgium's FN Herstal Fal rifles. Whilst not as ubiquitous as that of the AK 47 and its derivatives, both Fal and G3 assault rifles have been found in the region in large numbers. These bullets bear the head stamp markings of the Greek company, Pyrkal Greek Powder & Cartridge Company. According to the 2002-2003 catalogue produced by Hellenic Defence Industries, Prykal have exported ammunition to Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda.

The ammunition identified from Ituri was manufactured in the late 1980s, showing the long shelf life of bullets and hence the vital importance of better regulating their transfer. It is also worth stating that supplies of arms and ammunition to countries like the DRC tend to be very old and very cheap, sourced from surplus stocks. The age of the bullet therefore, is not a reliable indication of the date of the transfer. Very old bullets are often part of recent supplies. For example, from late 2002 to June 2003, Amnesty International found that over four million rounds of Albanian surplus ammunition were supplied to Rwanda, which UN Panel experts concluded was destined for use in DRC. Most of this ammunition would have been 20 or 30 years old.

Serbian small arms:

Weapons produced in Serbia (or the former Yugoslavia) have been identified in a number of embargoed destinations and other crisis zones over the last few years. The weapons found in Ituri in September 2006 and identified by researchers included a 7.65 mm Zastava Model 70 self-loading pistol, produced by Serbian company Zastava. In July 2005, Amnesty International documented a request sent to the DRC civil aviation authorities to fly a military cargo from Serbia to Kinshasa. Amnesty International also found that in June 2003, an aircraft operated by Rwandan company, Silverback Cargo, flew arms from Albania to Rwanda, routed via Belgrade. Albanian officials told Amnesty that in the Serbian capital, additional military cargo was loaded onto the Silverback aircraft. Serbian anti-personnel mines and mortar shells were also found in the possession of a DRC armed opposition group in Bukavu in 2004.

Bullets manufactured in 1999 by Prvi Partizan in Uzice in the former Yugoslavia were also used on 13 August 2004 at the Gatumba massacre in Burundi, where 150 refugees were shot dead and more than 100 injured. The Gatumba transit camp is close to the border with the DRC and sheltered civilian Congolese refugees, mainly of the ethnic Banyamulenge, and Burundian returnees. Serbian companies have also been implicated in supplying large quantities of weapons and ammunition in violation of UN arms embargoes on Liberia. . One of the cargo firms involved has also delivered arms to the Great Lakes Region.

South African rifles

One of the weapons identified by researchers is a 5.56 mm R4 assault rifle manufactured in South Africa. South African peacekeepers in the DRC and neighbouring Burundi were issued with R4 rifles. There is also evidence cited by UN investigators that equipment supplied as part of South African military support to Rwanda has found its way to rebel forces fighting in DRC. In July 2004, a UN Group of Experts on the DRC embargo reported that a "newly manufactured South African R5 rifle" was discovered in the DRC in a weapons cache belonging to a rebel faction of RCD-Goma. The weapon was "part of an inventory previously supplied to Rwanda by means of a licensed purchase from South Africa." The UN Panel also reported in October 2003 that it had information indicating that some arms belonging to the UPC (Union des Patriotes Congolais, Union of Congolese Patriots), a militia group that has been responsible for grave abuses of human rights in the Iruri district, had originated from the Balkans and South Africa.

Chinese and Russian small arms

Chinese and Russian small arms were also identified by researchers, including two Chinese Type 56 AK-47s and a Russian grenade launcher. UN records for weapons recovered from the UPC in Ituri during September 2003 show that most of weapons consisted of over 3,000 Kalashnikov rifles and corresponding ammunition with markings reportedly from China and Russia. There were also Russian grenade launchers, Russian and US grenades, a variety of other ammunition and some firearms from former Yugoslavia (Serbia) and Israel. In November 2005 the majority of Kalashnikov assault rifles surrendered by armed groups in Ituri were found by Amnesty International and the International Peace Information Service to be the Chinese Type 56 variant. Other assault rifles recovered from armed groups in Ituri were made in Bulgaria and Romania. It is not known how such Chinese and Russian and other assault rifles were received by armed groups in Ituri.

Arms in the possession of RCD-Goma, the largest armed group operating in the Kivu Provinces of DRC, in 2005 included rocket launchers, armoured cars, machine guns, light artillery, mortars and landmines, manufactured in a wide range of countries, including China, North Korea, Russia, USA, Belgium, France, the former Yugoslavia, Germany, Switzerland, and Bulgaria. RCD Goma has at times had military alliances and also clashes with armed groups in Ituri.


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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.