قبرص توقف سفينة محملة بالأسلحة والدبابات متوجهة للسودان!!

Quote: NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus has intercepted a vessel carrying military equipment thought to be bound for Sudan, under an arms embargo by the United Nations and the European Union. Authorities said on Tuesday the Antigua and Barbuda flagged vessel had been prevented from leaving Cypriot waters since June 11, when it anchored off the southern port of Limassol for refuelling. "There is material (on board) which is considered prohibited from leaving Cyprus right now," Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides told Cyprus radio. "When we speak of prohibited material it means explosives or military material." The daily Phileleftheros, which broke the story on Tuesday, said the vessel was transporting tanks and explosives, and was blocked after a tipoff from the United States. A spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Nicosia said Washington was not involved. The manifest of the ship said it was sailing to Sudan and Singapore, a police spokesman said. Paschalides said the vessel's papers suggested it sailed from Norway and had passed through the German port of Hamburg and through Spain. Police said they were checking the authenticity of the documents. A security source said authorities were investigating whether the cargo contravened a U.N. arms embargo on all armed groups operating in Sudan's Darfur region, the site of a seven-year conflict pitting government troops and allied militias against rebel fighters. The European Union, of which Cyprus is a member, also has a blanket ban on arms shipments to Sudan. Asked about the cargo, Paschalides said: "I cannot specify right now what material it is, whether it is tanks, not tanks or other things, but there is definitely military material which comes under export control." In January 2009 Cyprus intercepted a ship heading to Syria from Iran carrying weapons-related material. It said at the time that the cargo violated U.N. resolutions on Iran banning weapons exports. The cargo was confiscated.