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Zim arms ship heads for Angola
19/04/2008 22:20 - (SA)
Maputo - A Chinese ship carrying arms to
Zimbabwe which was turned away from South Africa is heading to
Angola in hopes of docking there, the transport minister of
Mozambique said on Saturday.
The ship left South African waters on Friday after a court
refused to allow the weapons to be transported across South
Africa, Sapa news agency said.
Mozambique's Transport and Communications Minister Paulo
Zucula told Reuters that Mozambique has been monitoring the
movements of the ship since it lifted anchor and left South
Africa.
"We know that it registered its next destination as Luanda
because here we wouldn't allow it into Mozambican waters without
prior arrangements", he said.
The An Yue Jiang, a Chinese ship, had been at anchor off
Durban on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast since Monday,
turning into a flashpoint for trade unions and others critical
of President Thabo Mbeki's quiet diplomacy toward Zimbabwe.
The 300 000-strong South African Transport and Allied
Workers Union (Satawu) refused to unload the weapons because of
concerns Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government might
use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.
- Reuters
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Zimbabwe Special Report
