Sudan on Wednesday denied trying to import arms on a ship intercepted in Cyprus, saying explosives on board had been ordered by a mining company.
Cypriot authorities on Tuesday said they had prevented a cargo vessel from leaving their waters since June 11, saying it contained prohibited military material and was thought to be heading for Sudan.
CONFLICT
A security source said authorities were investigating whether the cargo contravened a UN arms embargo on all armed groups operating in Sudan’s Darfur region, where a seven-year conflict has pitted government troops and allied militias against rebel fighters.
Sudan’s recently appointed mining minister, Abdel Baqi al-Jailani, said late on Wednesday the reports of an arms shipment were “just nonsense.”
“The ship is carrying some explosives for civil work ... for quarry face blasting and mining,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the military.”
MINING
He said the explosives had been ordered by Ariab Mining Company, an operation part-owned by the Sudanese government with gold mining operations in eastern Sudan.
Jaliani said Sudan was now considering taking legal action to free the cargo and win compensation for the delay.
“The explosives were supposed to be here ... Some work has had to be stopped ... Sudan always comes under suspicion. This is something we always have to deal with,” he said.
Cypriot police said the vessel was sailing to Sudan and then Singapore.
The US envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, in March accused Sudan of cavalier violations of the UN’s Darfur embargo.
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