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July 24, 2008 11:38:20 PM CDT

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Chinese Weapons Ship May Head Home

Posted Apr 22, 08 9:33 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – China may recall the ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe, thanks to stonewalling by its Southern African neighbors, the BBC reports. Coastal nations are refusing to allow the ship to dock, worried that the weapons will be used to escalate Zimbabwe’s tense post-election standoff. The ship may yet find harbor in Angola, an ally of Zimbabwe’s government, but a Chinese official said it was considering simply returning home.

The ship’s agent says it’s headed for Angola’s capital, Luanda, but an Angolan official said it wasn’t authorized to dock. The US helped orchestrate the blockade, the AP reports, though a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman says there are no grounds for it. “This is purely a military goods transaction,” he said. “There's no point in politicizing this.”

Sources BBC, Associated Press

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Zimbabweans demonstrate outside the Zimbabwe embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday April 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
The An Yue Jiang is seen anchored outside Durban harbor, South Africa, Thursday, April 17, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Crew members are seen on board the deck of the An Yue Jiang, as it lies anchored outside the Durban harbor, South Africa, Thursday, April 17, 2008.   (AP Photo)
This file photo, intercepted in a Sept. 16, 2006 e-mail, shows samples of Chinese-made assault rifles offered by an alleged Italian arms trafficking ring in a huge attempted sale of arms to Libya.   (AP Photo/Handout)
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China  • Zimbabwe  • Robert Mugabe  • Zimbabwe elections  • South Africa  • Angola


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