Thread by @IscoFekadu

The Stockholm based think-tank @SIPRIorg said in a report released(link below) that 90 percent of air cargo companies identified in arms trafficking-related reports had been used by UN agencies, EU & NATO members as well as leading NGO to deliver aid. Know what @PowerUSAID up to

https://twitter.com/IscoFekadu/status/1423725983237033987

“For example, UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan have continued to use aircraft operated by (Sudan’s) Badr Airlines even after the UN Security Council recommended an aviation ban be imposed on the carrier in response to arms embargo violations,” the SIPRI report said.

The report also singled out other African carriers such as Astral Aviation, African International Airlines and the Sudanese-registered Trans Attico as being named in arms trafficking reports.

It also said several US private security firms hired air cargo carriers and aircraft which have been “involved in the trafficking of arms to militias which the US government have designated ‘global terrorists’.”

Minister of @SweMFA Gunilla Carlsson would take swift action to ensure that the Sipri recommendations were implemented.

“I welcome the report which highlights a serious problem that demands immediate measures,” Carlsson said in a statement.
“The conclusions are very disturbing.”

The report cited Dyncorp, a company that provides security services for the US gov't, as having contracted Aerolift, a firm accused by the #UNSC in 2006 of being involved in arms trading, to supply weapons to an Islamist militia that controls much of southern Somalia.

The militant group, al-Shabaab, was added by the US government to its list of terrorist organizations in March 2008 over alleged links to al-Qaeda.

SIPRI’s report added that air carriers involved in aid and peacekeeping operations were also used to transport “conflict-sensitive” goods such as cocaine, diamonds and other precious materials.

One of the report’s authors, Mark Bromley, said that a more rigorous application of the EU’s existing air safety regulations could play a crucial role in stemming the flow of weapons to Africa’s conflict zones.

“Air safety enforcement could put hard core arms dealers out of business, Our research shows that companies named in arms trafficking-related reports have poor safety records. "Bromley said in a statement.

"Safety regulations represent their Achilles heel, and can do to them what tax evasion charges did to Al Capone,” he added.

All these facts and malpractices put forward on this research, the reaction by @USAmbUN was an interesting one considering the fact that these "NGO"s had been
caught in illegal actions and GoE passed it with a mere warning in the past.

https://twitter.com/USAmbUN/status/1422901075888070657?s=20

A vehicle owned by an NGO was stopped by ENDF members while transporting around 3 #TPLFTerrorist which was believed to be an attempt to smuggle them out of the country. GoE had let that incident go with a warning considering the vital role of humanitarian activities at the time.

It was not long ago that a WFP Staff who smuggled Satellite phones into Tigray and these sat phones were distributed among TPLF ranks. @WHOEthiopia and it parent @WHO through @DrTedros had their hands in the purchase of these phones as per the report of the WHO External auditor.

Signals of request for unattended Humanitarian Corridor through Sudan which has slipped @PowerUSAID mouth during her recent visit in Sudan, a narrative put forth by TPLF as well as the Sudanese government. Route via Sudan takes 14hours while through Djibouti and Afar takes only 5

So "why?" one would ask & the apparent response be - Duh, to smuggle arms for #TPLFTerroristGroup with goal of overpowering the other side on it's continued military aggression towards the south although the GoE still standing by its decision of #UnilateralCeaseFire.

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