Sudan summons Ethiopian, Kenyan ambassadors over arms

(SomaliNet) A ministry official said Sudan\'s foreign ministry on Monday summoned the ambassadors of Kenya and Ethiopia over concerns their countries had shipped arms to the semi-autonomous South Sudan government.

The summons comes in the wake of the arrival of an Ethiopian plane carrying light arms in the South Sudanese capital Juba on Saturday.

Somali pirates last month, hijacked a Ukrainian ship carrying Kenyan-purchased tanks, which the pirates said were destined for South Sudan.

Under a peace treaty signed by South and North Sudan in 2005, which ended a two-decade civil war, neither side is allowed to upgrade its army in ceasefire zones without the other\'s approval.

The foreign ministry questioned the two ambassadors about the shipments of arms, the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, Kenya has denied the tanks on board the hijacked ship were headed to South Sudan, and Ethiopia\'s ambassador Ali Abdo told reporters on Monday the Ethiopian plane was carrying light weapons destined for an arms exhibition in Juba.

United Nations monitors had inspected the plane on Saturday, he added.

A UN source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said UN monitors had inspected the plane after it landed and that some weapons were found on board. He did not provide further details.

The BBC last week carried a picture of the purported freight manifest of the hijacked ship, showing the initials GOSS, an acronym the British broadcaster suggested stood for the Government of South Sudan, where it said the weapons were heading.

Moses Wetengula, Kenya\'s Foreign Minister has said the broadcaster had misunderstood the document.

\"That is the correct document but it was misinterpreted. The initials shown in that cargo manifest do not in any way show that the military cargo was destined for Southern Sudan,\" he told reporters last week.

A US navy central command spokesman also suggested the weapons were earmarked for southern Sudan, suspicions confirmed off the record by several Western intelligence sources in East Africa. -AFP