Pirates, Grenade Launchers and the Future of Sudan

A recent chain of events-more likely to appear in a Hollywood movie than real-life-involving Somali pirates and an ill-fated Ukrainian freighter has exposed a shipment of arms on its way to southern Sudan.

On September 25^th, the Ukrainian vessel MV Faina was captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The Faina was on its way to Nairobi, Kenya carrying $30 million worth of military equipment including ammunition, grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns and 33 Russian-made tanks.

Despite evidence otherwise, the Kenyan government maintains that the cargo onboard the Faina was for use by the Kenyan military. However, the United States and others have acknowledged that the shipment was part of an arms deal between Kenya and Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). Rumors are circulating that this is the third arms shipment of its kind to pass through Kenya to Sudan.

The ship's capture in the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast has garnered the attention of the international community. Currently, an American armada has encircled the vessel as negotiations continue over the fate of the pirates, the ship and the cargo.

This military shipment highlights the tensions that remain between the northern Government of Sudan and GoSS since signing a peace agreement in 2005, which ended a 21-year civil war. For years, the international community has accused China and Russia of illegally selling arms to the Government of Sudan in the north. Experts such as the ENOUGH Project's John Prendergast advocate that investing in the security apparatus of the weaker GoSS may provide a deterrent to future violence.

A resolution between the pirates and international authorities over the captured vessel is expected soon. However, questions over the influx of arms into Sudan remain.

~Allyson Neville, Advocacy Associate