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French journalists embedded in recent counter terror operations in the Sahael region of Africa claim to have been briefed that AQIM has warned of upcoming surface-to-air missile attacks against commercial aircraft. Though it is buried deep in the following story, the timing of such a warning is important. Salafist teachings tell Mujahdin to warn the oppressors so that they may repent. Al Qaeda organizations and their affiliates have consistently given repentance warnings before they introduced a new methods of warfare. This may indicated that AQIM has resolved their SA-7 training and battery issues.
- Shimron Issachar
****************************
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Regional cooperation is needed in the fight against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb but many potential allies are content to point fingers, a specialist said.
Heavy weaponry lost during the Libyan war is in the hands of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, French newspaper France 24 reports. Its journalists were embedded recently with a counter-terrorism unit in the deserts of Mauritania.
The report said Mauritanian officials say AQIM now has surface-to-air missiles in its possession that can down a commercial airliner.
Mauritania declared parts of its desert a demilitarized zone in 2008 to combat terrorist groups like AQIM, the North African branch of al-Qaida.
Authorities there said, however, that close cooperation between countries in the region is the only effective strategy against AQIM.
Mohamed Mahmoud Adoulmaaly, a newspaper editor and AQIM specialist, told France 24, however, that regionally cooperation was unlikely.
"Algeria spends it's time warning against the French presence and not giving any support, same goes for Niger," he said. "The interests of these countries are all totally divergent."
AQIM took responsibility for a September attack on the Cherchell Military Academy in Algeria that left 16 students and two civilians dead. Washington had earlier acknowledged that AQIM had issued threats against chartered planes in Algeria.
U.S. counter-terrorism officials told reporters during a recent background briefing that "these regional nodes are the way of the future" for al-Qaida.
The Rest @ UPI
Showing posts with label SA-7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SA-7. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
AQIM's New SA-7s Are Not "Point and Shoot" Weapons
The following article suggests that recently pilfered Libya surface to air anti-aircraft missiles must be maintained carefully, and require unique battery systems that Al Qaeda groups in Africa do not have. There are reports that they may be looking for weapons manuals in Arabic.
REUTERS
Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand on Soviet-made SCUD missile outside a village near Sirte, one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining strongholds.
Thousands of surface-to-air missiles pillaged in Libya pose less of a risk than feared as most militant groups in sub-Saharan Africa lack the knowhow and the equipment to fire them, experts say.
The Soviet-made SA-7 is a man-portable low-altitude missile with a high explosive and passive infrared homing device that could pose a nightmare in the Sahel where an Al-Qaeda affiliate, among other groups, is active.
While some fear they could be used to target commercial flights if they fell into the wrong hands, others say that using them is not so simple and that they could turn out to be just scrap metal, if not properly stored.
The arsenal of toppled Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi comprised about 20 000 such missiles, initially manufactured in the former Soviet Union since 1972 and then in other east European countries, according to experts.
Several informed sources said many of them had found their way to clandestine markets in sub-Saharan Africa, where they could be offered to groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
“We have got wind of the fact that they are looking for instruction manuals in Arabic,” a French anti-terrorism expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“But there is nothing to indicate that these missiles are in a functional state. And using them is more difficult than it would seem.”
Another expert, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We know that Tuareg arms traffickers have got their hands on Libyan SA-7 missiles. But they are going to have serious maintainence problems.”
“For a start, these missiles can only be used with thermal batteries, which need to be recharged. We do not think AQIM has the necessary networks to get these.”
The cylindrical 9B17 thermal battery allows the seeker to track the target by detecting infrared radiation and then hit targets up to an altitude of 4500 metres (14 850 feet).
The missiles and batteries are usually stored separately.
Following Gaddafi's ouster, journalists who were able to access some of his armouries saw empty missile crates with their contents looted, but the batteries had been left behind.
A top US general recently said the United States and the international community believe Libya's new rulers are responsible for preventing weapons proliferation in a region battling terrorism.
General Carter Ham, the head of the Africa command, Africom, said there was “a threat of the proliferation of the weapons from Libya and we are greatly concerned... about small arms, rifles and weapons similar to that, but also explosives and shoulder-fired air defence systems.”
Nearby Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger - all large but mainly poor countries - are prey to attacks by AQIM, which is battling the military in the Sahel nations, has taken Western hostages and is held to be engaged in arms trafficking.
Matthew Schroeder, the manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists, downplayed the fears of the missiles wrecking havoc.
“These missiles have in theory a shelf life of 10 to 20 years. But lots of these missiles are old, some may not function properly. And if they are not handled properly, they can be damaged,” he said.
“It's not good for these weapons to be taken out of their crates and thrown in the back of a truck. It's not like an AK series rifle, you know.”
And using them was not child's play, he said.
“They do require some training. It's not as simple as it's often portrayed. If you're a trained operator, it's not complicated, but specially with the older ones, in order to be reasonably confident you're going to hit the target you've got to know what you are doing.”
In July last year, he wrote an article for the specialised magazine Foreign Policy entitled “Stop Panicking About the Stingers” in which he tried to calm fears that insurgents in Afghanistan, who had got hold of the heat-seeking missiles, could use them against US planes.
“In the recent conflict in Afghanistan, I don't know of any report of a Stinger missile used since 2001,” he said. “I don't know of any downed plane as a result of Stingers. It also depends on the storage conditions.” - AFP
The Rest @ AFP
REUTERS
Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand on Soviet-made SCUD missile outside a village near Sirte, one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining strongholds.
Thousands of surface-to-air missiles pillaged in Libya pose less of a risk than feared as most militant groups in sub-Saharan Africa lack the knowhow and the equipment to fire them, experts say.
The Soviet-made SA-7 is a man-portable low-altitude missile with a high explosive and passive infrared homing device that could pose a nightmare in the Sahel where an Al-Qaeda affiliate, among other groups, is active.
While some fear they could be used to target commercial flights if they fell into the wrong hands, others say that using them is not so simple and that they could turn out to be just scrap metal, if not properly stored.
The arsenal of toppled Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi comprised about 20 000 such missiles, initially manufactured in the former Soviet Union since 1972 and then in other east European countries, according to experts.
Several informed sources said many of them had found their way to clandestine markets in sub-Saharan Africa, where they could be offered to groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
“We have got wind of the fact that they are looking for instruction manuals in Arabic,” a French anti-terrorism expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“But there is nothing to indicate that these missiles are in a functional state. And using them is more difficult than it would seem.”
Another expert, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We know that Tuareg arms traffickers have got their hands on Libyan SA-7 missiles. But they are going to have serious maintainence problems.”
“For a start, these missiles can only be used with thermal batteries, which need to be recharged. We do not think AQIM has the necessary networks to get these.”
The cylindrical 9B17 thermal battery allows the seeker to track the target by detecting infrared radiation and then hit targets up to an altitude of 4500 metres (14 850 feet).
The missiles and batteries are usually stored separately.
Following Gaddafi's ouster, journalists who were able to access some of his armouries saw empty missile crates with their contents looted, but the batteries had been left behind.
A top US general recently said the United States and the international community believe Libya's new rulers are responsible for preventing weapons proliferation in a region battling terrorism.
General Carter Ham, the head of the Africa command, Africom, said there was “a threat of the proliferation of the weapons from Libya and we are greatly concerned... about small arms, rifles and weapons similar to that, but also explosives and shoulder-fired air defence systems.”
Nearby Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger - all large but mainly poor countries - are prey to attacks by AQIM, which is battling the military in the Sahel nations, has taken Western hostages and is held to be engaged in arms trafficking.
Matthew Schroeder, the manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists, downplayed the fears of the missiles wrecking havoc.
“These missiles have in theory a shelf life of 10 to 20 years. But lots of these missiles are old, some may not function properly. And if they are not handled properly, they can be damaged,” he said.
“It's not good for these weapons to be taken out of their crates and thrown in the back of a truck. It's not like an AK series rifle, you know.”
And using them was not child's play, he said.
“They do require some training. It's not as simple as it's often portrayed. If you're a trained operator, it's not complicated, but specially with the older ones, in order to be reasonably confident you're going to hit the target you've got to know what you are doing.”
In July last year, he wrote an article for the specialised magazine Foreign Policy entitled “Stop Panicking About the Stingers” in which he tried to calm fears that insurgents in Afghanistan, who had got hold of the heat-seeking missiles, could use them against US planes.
“In the recent conflict in Afghanistan, I don't know of any report of a Stinger missile used since 2001,” he said. “I don't know of any downed plane as a result of Stingers. It also depends on the storage conditions.” - AFP
The Rest @ AFP
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Worth Watching 7-13-11
Someone in Richardson TX
192.168.105.2
Looking into AQIM's SA-7s.
192.168.105.2:15871/cgi-bin/blockOptions.cgi?ws-session=2878983059
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Friday, June 24, 2011
Mauritania Convicts 8 For Giving AQIM SA-7s
he Nouakchott Supreme Court on Sunday (June 19th) convicted and sentenced eight people for aiding and supporting al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The prison terms ranged from five years for two Salafists – Ahmed Sale ould Hassan and Ely Cheikh Ould Wadiaa – to three years for Hassan Ould Maata and two years for the remaining five defendants: Mauritanians Bah Ould Mohamed, Moustapha Ould Ahmed, Issa Ould Ahmed, Abdellahi Ould Hamadi and Tunisian national Malek Lekrimi.
"They supplied the chief fighter of the Battalion of the Masked with communication devices, quantities of explosives and a SA-7 missile, an act which is punishable under the Mauritanian anti-terrorism law," the court said.
The prosecutor told the court that "some of them helped Abul Abbas, a.k.a. 'Balor', who is the leader of the Battalion of the Masked that is based in the desert, by providing logistical tools that helped him launch attacks against the Sahel countries' armies and kidnap and kill European and US nationals, and blow up European and US diplomatic headquarters."
Abdellahi Ould Hamadi was using an alias (Abul Hammam) and received 3,000 euros from a collaborator of Balor's in exchange for supplying him with communication devices and phones, according to prosecutor Ahmed Ould Abdellahi.
"The defendant was receiving instructions from Sidi Ould Sidna who was convicted in the killing of French nationals in the city of Aleg, Mauritania, in December 2007," the prosecutor added. "He was also in touch with the terrorists who took part in the Tourine operation that was carried out by al-Qaeda against the Mauritanian army in September 2008."
Defendant Abdellahi Ould Hamadi confessed to the charges against him saying that "it's very normal to see an arms shipment or smuggled contraband where we live in the desert."
"I received an amount of 25 million ouguiyas from Balor to hand it to some collaborators with AQIM. However, I was arrested by the Mauritanian security forces at a time when I was planning to surrender and report al-Qaeda," Ould Hamadi said.
As to the importance of the trial, Rabii Ould Idoumou, a journalist specialising in terrorism, said that "these elements don't have dangerous files because they were not involved in direct murders or kidnappings. Therefore, it's almost like a trial of individuals rather than an organised network, because they had no ties or joint co-ordination."
Analyst Yacoub Moustapha said the sentence was a message to "the many people who have commercial dealings with al-Qaeda, to the effect that they won't be secure from prison".
Young activist Mohamed Ould Zeine noted that the trial had taken just one hearing. "This leaves an impression among observers about the danger of these groups; something that some people may see as an incentive to pass the sentences against them," he added.
"I believe that charges made against those young people are not very serious as long as the prison terms are that short," university professor Mohamed Kanté said. "However, I think that selling arms to al-Qaeda is not at all different from killing because those who help in killings, even with a single word, are like perpetrators."
Commenting on the terrorists, university student Sidi Elmokhtar Ould Sidi said, "Their act is considered treason in this country, and the trial will certainly serve as a deterrent."
Thursday, June 23, 2011
AQIM Reported to have SA-7 Ground to Air Missils
PARIS - They had Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers. Now, with the plundering of Libyan barracks AQIM fighters have military explosives and no doubt formidable anti-aircraft weapons.
- The interception April 12 in the desert of Niger of arms smugglers carrying 640 kg of explosives, including Czech Semtex and 435 detonators has confirmed the worst fears of Western and regional services: the transfer to the strongholds of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) of large lots of military weapons recovered thanks to the Libyan crisis.
- According to the Nigerian security services, many of AQIM fighters were in the convoy.
- "This confirms that the role of the Libyan Islamic radicals is not only to fight against Gaddafi but also to channel the flow of missiles and explosives. The goal is to revitalize the AQIM arms network," said in Algiers Mohamed Mokeddem expert, author of "France and armed Islamism".
- "With the weapons looted from army barracks in Libya, they passed to the next level: the terrorists of Al Qaeda now have sophisticated weapons of war, and it's very worrying," he says, reached by telephone from Paris.
- Since the occupation by the Libyan opposition of all the barracks in the east and the disappearance into unknown hands of thousands of tons of weapons, the alarm was raised in the region.
- Last week, an official of the fight against terrorism in the region told AFP: "There is a great danger to see AQIM become one of the strongest armies in the Sahel. Many weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists, mostly ground-air missiles."
- Trafficking in small arms has always existed in the vastness of the Sahara and Sahel, intended for the tribes, rebellions, mafia groups and twenty years of Islamist actvities.
- But the prospect of scattered including anti-aircraft missiles Russian-made SAM-7, of which hundreds have been stolen in Libya, changes the game and gives nightmares to the security forces in the region and beyond.
- "The international intelligence services are very worried. This is a massive infusion of weapons in the international trafficking networks," says Eric Dénécé, director of the French research on intelligence, co-author of a report on the recent rebellion in Libya.
- "Traffickers will first try to sell the goods as close to their area, to reduce the risk of being intercepted by the police and services, but nothing tells us that in a few months we do not find this material in Uzbekistan, Corsica and elsewhere ..." he told AFP.
- The report, entitled "Libya, an uncertain future", published May 12, said: "Members of AQIM have acquired multiple copies of portable surface to air missiles of SAM-7 type from Libyan smugglers".
- "On the SAM-7, there is no much doubt," says Eric Dénécé.
- "Services in Mali and in Algerians say the same thing. Where did they go? It is another question ... And there's all what was exported by sea directly from Benghazi: Benghazi mafias are traditionally very active".
- According to Mohamed Mokeddem, a U.S. delegation visited Algeria last week "to work on the traceability of such missiles. They are very concerned."
- For if the SAM-7 would not be very useful for katibas (groups) of the Sahel AQIM, rarely threatened from the air, they could allow a shooter set in the end of an African airport to destroy almost certainly an airliner.
Monday, April 04, 2011
AQIM now may have Russian SA-7s.
This is a separate source confirmation that AQIM now has Surface to Air Missiles, probably SA-7s. The means and route of transport suggests that the convoys discussed below are being led or contracked by Abdelmalek Droukdel, of AQIM.-Shimron Issachar
*******
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Al Qaeda is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali, a security official from neighbouring Algeria told Reuters.
- The official said a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up trucks left eastern Libya, crossed into Chad and then Niger, and from there into northern Mali where in the past few days it delivered a cargo of weapons.
- He said the weapons included Russian-made RPG-7 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, explosives and ammunition.
- He also said he had information that al Qaeda's north African wing, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had acquired from Libya Russian-made shoulder-fired Strela surface-to-air missiles known by the NATO designation SAM-7.
(picture of Nicaraguan Soldier with SA-7, source)
"A convoy of eight Toyotas full of weapons travelled a few days ago through Chad and Niger and reached northern Mali," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The weapons included RPG-7s, FMPK (Kalashnikov heavy machine guns), Kalashnikovs, explosives and ammunition ... and we know that this is not the first convoy and that it is still ongoing," the official told Reuters.
- "Several military barracks have been pillaged in this region (eastern Libya) with their arsenals and weapons stores and the elements of AQIM who were present could not have failed to profit from this opportunity."
- "AQIM, which has maintained excellent relations with smugglers who used to cross Libya from all directions without the slightest difficulty, will probably give them the task of bringing it the weapons," said the official. Continued...
The official said that al Qaeda was exploiting disarray among forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and had also infiltrated the anti-Gaddafi rebels in eastern Libya.
The rebels deny any ties to al Qaeda. U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, said last week intelligence showed only "flickers" of an al Qaeda presence in Libya, with no significant role in the Libyan uprising.
"AQIM ... is taking advantage by acquiring the most sophisticated weapons such as SAM-7s (surface-to-air missiles), which are equivalent to Stingers," he said, referring to a missile system used by the U.S. military.
Algeria has been fighting a nearly two-decade insurgency by Islamist militants who in the past few years have been operating under the banner of al Qaeda. Algeria's security forces also monitor al Qaeda's activities outside its borders.
The security official said the Western coalition which has intervened in Libya had to confront the possibility that if Gaddafi's regime falls, al Qaeda could exploit the resulting chaos to extend its influence to the Mediterranean coast.
"If the Gaddafi regime goes, it is the whole of Libya -- in terms of a country which has watertight borders and security and customs services which used to control these borders -- which will disappear, at least for a good time, long enough for AQIM to re-deploy as far as the Libyan Mediterranean."
"In the case of Libya, the coalition forces must make an urgent choice. To allow chaos to settle in, which will necessitate ... a ground intervention with the aim of limiting the unavoidable advance of AQIM towards the southern coast of the Mediterranean, or to preserve the Libyan regime, with or without Gaddafi, to restore the pre-uprising security situation," the official told Reuters.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Al-Kassar Arms Trafficking Operation Exposed by Mediafax
This is a very rough translation of an article that appeared on the Romanina media network Mediafax on October 27, 2009. TBDA shows that they have been conducting an investigation for some time.
-Shimron Issachar
The contract between the company Romarm and used, according to UN publications, the arms trafficker Monzer Al-Kassar as a front for arms exports for brigades FARC has not been finalized, said Tuesday evening, the AFP, general manager of Romarm John whip.
Contract for supply of weapons to FARC alleged destination was not executed (Image: Archive Mediafax Foto)
"I can tell that Romarm a contract with the company Trowl Services Limited, which aim to contract the supply of products for police in Nicaragua. This contract, like all contracts that we conclude, it enters into force, according to a clear terms, I would say the primary, only after it received an export license to the National Authority for Control of Exports (ANCEX).
Although this agreement was an export license issued by ANCEX, it was immediately withdrawn and while it was valid was not made any delivery and has not received any money under this contract ", they said by phone, whip, agency AFP.
Director Romarm could not specify what were the reasons for which the license ANCEX was "immediately" withdrawn, adding that institutional relations between the institution endorses Romarm and exports "not involve the provision of explanations or additional information.
Whip's statements come in the context of the emergence of a magazine article published in the UN Institute for Disarmament, which shows that Monzer al-Kassar, a leading international arms trafficking network condemned by the U.S., has negotiated with Romarm Romanian company in 2007, buying arms which was to reach the Colombian group FARC.
In February, Monzer al-Kassar has been condemned by the District Court in New York to 30 years in prison for having agreed to provide arms Colombian terrorist group FARC.
"Monzer al-Kassar was convicted following a "sting?"organized by the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), which had received large sums for the purchase of weapons, including sophisticated surface-to-air missiles.
The weapons were to be purchased from the Romanian company Romarm , which, as the evidence on record, did not oppose the sale, showed the article published in the magazine UN Institute for Disarmament Research in the field (UNIDIR), available on the website www.unidir.ch.
In response to those related by UNIDIR, whip said that no representative Romarm concluded any agreement with Monzer al-Kassar and it never provided any price list.
Also Tuesday, the Director of National Agency for Conventional Arms Exports Control said by telephone to the agency AFP, that the transaction which reported UNIDIR was never completed, leaving to understand that an institution that has not ever endorsed such export.
"Anyone can enter any contract, but this kind of business document contains a clause on consent from us, from ANCEX. Ask those from Romarm if they received any notice for that transaction," said ANCEX official, refusing any further comment.
"Probably to mislead the authorities in Romania", al-Kassar has used an intermediary to purchase arms and ammunition from Romarm. The intermediary was Milan Djurovic, the company Trawl Services Limited, registered in Britain but which is based in Belgrade, write the authors document UNIDIR.
Several instruments found in possession of al-Kassar shows that Milan Djurovic was used in business transactions (with) Transtrade GmbH. The UNIDIR report (said ) and export license C32.7515 was issued (May 16, 2007) between Romarm and Trawl Services Ltd, a copy (of)the contract between the two companies were found on Al-Kassar.
Previously, Nicolae Iancu, marketing director of Romarm, said to AFP that the number cited by UNIDIR is a contract, not a license to export the ANCEX.
It can be a very legally binding contract with a firm, but that has not received notice ANCEX. Maybe just as well be talking about a fake contract, and such cases we have seen in almost 30 activities to Romarm" Janco said.
Iancu, who was director of Romarm and 2007, when Kassar, under UNIDIR publication should be negotiated with the institution, argued that evidence from the authors expected the UN publication and, referring to the fact that the publication maintains that information is contained in testimony of one of U.S. agencies involved in its monitoring of Kassar said that testimony in the courts "may be false.
"The fact that the transaction was never made means that it is not approved by ANCEX without notice any weapon can be delivered across borders or understanding between Romarm and British company has not reached the stage of obtaining export license, "concluded Iancu, adding that the program is not allowed to study the document UNIDIR and does not remember the names of firms or persons involved in the alleged contract.
According to Iancu, the information presented in the publication UNIDIR are "speculation" and are part of a series of attacks aimed at destabilizing trade Romanian defense industry.
"In recent years (reports occured) in the international press (that there were) items with the wrong destination, real attacks aimed at destabilizing the Romanian defense industry," said Janco, Tuesday evening, (to the) agency AFP, stressing that in his opinion, and information about (the) contract that involved Monzer al-Kassar, a leading international arms trafficking network in the U.S. convicted, would enter into the same category.
Asked how it was possible to conclude such a contract by Romarm, Janco said that an opinion is a pre-export phase and that, in principle, may be concluded "many ways" of contracts, but (th coontracts) do not run until after supplies are approved by ANCEX.
"We are a state company, everything is checked. Work legally, so it hurts me when I see all these defamations" he concluded, adding that Romarm could take an official position "if you consider (it)appropriate".
Al-Kassar had received over $ 400,000 to purchase weapons, funds that would provide money (for use?) by the FARC in drug trafficking but were actually funds the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency (DEA) to organize flagrantului.
Al-Kassar had repeatedly link edarms with companies from Bulgaria and Romania and traveled to both countries to complete arrangements to purchase weapons, "explained DEA agent William Brown in U.S. court which tried the al-Kassar, his testimony was the main source UNIDIR document.
The American agent quoted by UNIDIR, the operation provided by the FARC (to)purchase the following weapons to al-Kassar:
Al-Kassar told us that he was in Bulgaria and would arrive the next day in Romania, of the arms contract. He was to meet on May 11, 2007 with representatives of the arms industry in Romania. We useed airline data to confirm that al-Kassar went to Romania on May 10, 2007, 'says DEA agent William Brown, quoted by the authors UNIDIR publication.
During the visit to Romania and Bulgaria, al-Kassar (brought)a table of prices of the companies Romarm (Romania) and Armitrans (Bulgaria), stresses the document, which he cites DEA agent William Brown said that "some of the weapons had been purchased Al-Kassar from Romarm.
Milan Djurovic intend to buy from Romarm
The weapons were to be bought by al-Kassar with 920,000 dollars and the price demanded (of) the FARC would be 2,005,000 dollars, according to the report UNIDIR.
Trawl Services Company, cited in Article UNIDIR, (was to) provide safety equipment and police protection and commercial organizations (suuport) worldwide. The company's website (says it) provides armored cars, gas masks, metal detectors and other products.
The contact is a mailbox in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
UN Institute for Disarmament Research in the field (UNIDIR) was established in 1980 by the UN General Assembly and operates as an autonomous entity within the UN structures
The Rest @ Mediafax
-Shimron Issachar
The contract between the company Romarm and used, according to UN publications, the arms trafficker Monzer Al-Kassar as a front for arms exports for brigades FARC has not been finalized, said Tuesday evening, the AFP, general manager of Romarm John whip.
Contract for supply of weapons to FARC alleged destination was not executed (Image: Archive Mediafax Foto)
"I can tell that Romarm a contract with the company Trowl Services Limited, which aim to contract the supply of products for police in Nicaragua. This contract, like all contracts that we conclude, it enters into force, according to a clear terms, I would say the primary, only after it received an export license to the National Authority for Control of Exports (ANCEX).
Although this agreement was an export license issued by ANCEX, it was immediately withdrawn and while it was valid was not made any delivery and has not received any money under this contract ", they said by phone, whip, agency AFP.
Director Romarm could not specify what were the reasons for which the license ANCEX was "immediately" withdrawn, adding that institutional relations between the institution endorses Romarm and exports "not involve the provision of explanations or additional information.
Whip's statements come in the context of the emergence of a magazine article published in the UN Institute for Disarmament, which shows that Monzer al-Kassar, a leading international arms trafficking network condemned by the U.S., has negotiated with Romarm Romanian company in 2007, buying arms which was to reach the Colombian group FARC.
In February, Monzer al-Kassar has been condemned by the District Court in New York to 30 years in prison for having agreed to provide arms Colombian terrorist group FARC.
"Monzer al-Kassar was convicted following a "sting?"organized by the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), which had received large sums for the purchase of weapons, including sophisticated surface-to-air missiles.
The weapons were to be purchased from the Romanian company Romarm , which, as the evidence on record, did not oppose the sale, showed the article published in the magazine UN Institute for Disarmament Research in the field (UNIDIR), available on the website www.unidir.ch.
In response to those related by UNIDIR, whip said that no representative Romarm concluded any agreement with Monzer al-Kassar and it never provided any price list.
Also Tuesday, the Director of National Agency for Conventional Arms Exports Control said by telephone to the agency AFP, that the transaction which reported UNIDIR was never completed, leaving to understand that an institution that has not ever endorsed such export.
"Anyone can enter any contract, but this kind of business document contains a clause on consent from us, from ANCEX. Ask those from Romarm if they received any notice for that transaction," said ANCEX official, refusing any further comment.
"Probably to mislead the authorities in Romania", al-Kassar has used an intermediary to purchase arms and ammunition from Romarm. The intermediary was Milan Djurovic, the company Trawl Services Limited, registered in Britain but which is based in Belgrade, write the authors document UNIDIR.
Several instruments found in possession of al-Kassar shows that Milan Djurovic was used in business transactions (with) Transtrade GmbH. The UNIDIR report (said ) and export license C32.7515 was issued (May 16, 2007) between Romarm and Trawl Services Ltd, a copy (of)the contract between the two companies were found on Al-Kassar.
Previously, Nicolae Iancu, marketing director of Romarm, said to AFP that the number cited by UNIDIR is a contract, not a license to export the ANCEX.
It can be a very legally binding contract with a firm, but that has not received notice ANCEX. Maybe just as well be talking about a fake contract, and such cases we have seen in almost 30 activities to Romarm" Janco said.
Iancu, who was director of Romarm and 2007, when Kassar, under UNIDIR publication should be negotiated with the institution, argued that evidence from the authors expected the UN publication and, referring to the fact that the publication maintains that information is contained in testimony of one of U.S. agencies involved in its monitoring of Kassar said that testimony in the courts "may be false.
"The fact that the transaction was never made means that it is not approved by ANCEX without notice any weapon can be delivered across borders or understanding between Romarm and British company has not reached the stage of obtaining export license, "concluded Iancu, adding that the program is not allowed to study the document UNIDIR and does not remember the names of firms or persons involved in the alleged contract.
According to Iancu, the information presented in the publication UNIDIR are "speculation" and are part of a series of attacks aimed at destabilizing trade Romanian defense industry.
"In recent years (reports occured) in the international press (that there were) items with the wrong destination, real attacks aimed at destabilizing the Romanian defense industry," said Janco, Tuesday evening, (to the) agency AFP, stressing that in his opinion, and information about (the) contract that involved Monzer al-Kassar, a leading international arms trafficking network in the U.S. convicted, would enter into the same category.
Asked how it was possible to conclude such a contract by Romarm, Janco said that an opinion is a pre-export phase and that, in principle, may be concluded "many ways" of contracts, but (th coontracts) do not run until after supplies are approved by ANCEX.
"We are a state company, everything is checked. Work legally, so it hurts me when I see all these defamations" he concluded, adding that Romarm could take an official position "if you consider (it)appropriate".
Al-Kassar had received over $ 400,000 to purchase weapons, funds that would provide money (for use?) by the FARC in drug trafficking but were actually funds the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency (DEA) to organize flagrantului.
Al-Kassar had repeatedly link edarms with companies from Bulgaria and Romania and traveled to both countries to complete arrangements to purchase weapons, "explained DEA agent William Brown in U.S. court which tried the al-Kassar, his testimony was the main source UNIDIR document.
The American agent quoted by UNIDIR, the operation provided by the FARC (to)purchase the following weapons to al-Kassar:
- 4350 AKM assault rifles,
- 3350 by AKMS assault rifles,
- RPK 200 assault rifles,
- 50 rifle with telescope Dragunov,
- 500 Makarov pistols,
- 2,000,000 7.62 mm caliber bullets
- 120 grenade launchers RPG,
- 1650 PG-7V grenade and
- 2,400 hand grenades RGO-78.
Al-Kassar told us that he was in Bulgaria and would arrive the next day in Romania, of the arms contract. He was to meet on May 11, 2007 with representatives of the arms industry in Romania. We useed airline data to confirm that al-Kassar went to Romania on May 10, 2007, 'says DEA agent William Brown, quoted by the authors UNIDIR publication.
During the visit to Romania and Bulgaria, al-Kassar (brought)a table of prices of the companies Romarm (Romania) and Armitrans (Bulgaria), stresses the document, which he cites DEA agent William Brown said that "some of the weapons had been purchased Al-Kassar from Romarm.
Milan Djurovic intend to buy from Romarm
- 2,000 AKM assault rifles
- 2250 AKMS assault rifles,
- 200 RPK rifles,
- 50 rifles with Dragunov telescope
The weapons were to be bought by al-Kassar with 920,000 dollars and the price demanded (of) the FARC would be 2,005,000 dollars, according to the report UNIDIR.
Trawl Services Company, cited in Article UNIDIR, (was to) provide safety equipment and police protection and commercial organizations (suuport) worldwide. The company's website (says it) provides armored cars, gas masks, metal detectors and other products.
The contact is a mailbox in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
UN Institute for Disarmament Research in the field (UNIDIR) was established in 1980 by the UN General Assembly and operates as an autonomous entity within the UN structures
The Rest @ Mediafax
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