Israeli weapons fuelling war in South Sudan

Israeli weapons fuelling war in South Sudan
Civil war in South Sudan is being prolonged by a flow of Israeli weapons according to a UN report, as the humanitarian crisis in the country continues to deteriorate.
2 min read
26 August, 2015
Over 2.2 million have been displaced by the conflict [Anadolu]
Civil war in South Sudan is being prolonged by a flow of Israeli weapons into the country, according to a report by the UN Security Council.

Photos from the battlefields in the country show Israeli weapons being used including Galil ACE or IWI ACE assault rifles, according to the report prepared by a special UNSC commission.

The pictures also showed South Sudanese ministers and security services carrying the weapons.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the report said the weapons were an advanced model of Galil rifles. It did not, however, show the number of Israeli arms flowing into the country.
     Photos from the battlefields in the country show Israeli weapons being used.

Previous Israeli reports have said Israel was exporting advanced weapons into South Sudan, training the intelligence service and providing it with advanced technological means to monitor the authorities’ opponents.

An official report by the Israeli ministry of security in 2014 admitted that deals had been made with the government of South Sudan without disclosing details.

Sudanese newspapers said Israel had provided the government with missiles and military equipment and trained African mercenaries.

Official South Sudan delegations have been taking part in weapons exhibitions organised by Israeli military industries for three years.

Meanwhile, the top UN official in South Sudan has warned that the security situation in the country is 'volatile and tense', ahead of expectations the government will sign a peace deal today.

Ellen Margrethe Loj, head of UNMISS, the UN mission in the country, told the Security Council it was important to address "the drivers of conflict" to ensure "longer-term peace and development".

"I reiterate my call to the leaders of South Sudan to place the interests of their people above their personal ambitions and to implement the peace agreement in good faith," she said.

The peace treaty was endorsed by former Vice-President Riek Machar on 17 August.

Loj warned that there has been intense fighting in the Greater Upper Nile region, while an escalation of hostilities in southern Unity state was having severe consequences on the civilian population.

Under-Secretary-General to Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien told UN Council Members that the humanitarian situation was continuing to deteriorate.

He said over 2.2 million people had been displaced, an increase of 200,000 since the beginning of this year, and that severe food insecurity was affecting 4.6 million people compared to 3.8 million at the height of the lean season last year.