Africa Aid Shipped In Planes 'Used for Weapons'

An internally displaced woman of the Murle tribe carrying her ration of food from a distribution point in the Sudanese town of Pibor in March 2009. Air cargo carriers used to smuggle weapons to war-torn parts of Africa have also been hired to deliver humanitarian aid and support peacekeeping operations, a leading peace think tank has said. (AFP/UNMIS-HO/File/Tim Mckulka)

From Yahoo News/AP:

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Air cargo carriers used to smuggle weapons to war-torn parts of Africa have also been hired to deliver humanitarian aid and support peacekeeping operations, a leading peace think tank said Tuesday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report that 90 percent of air cargo companies identified in arms trafficking-related reports had been used by UN agencies, European Union and NATO members as well as leading non-governmental organisations to deliver aid.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have always been an advocate for making the smuggling of weapons a war crime .... but I know that it would never fly (no pun intended). Unfortunately, the transport companies that are used for the smuggling of weapons are the same transport companies that are used t bring aid .... and they are needed by foreign governments who are reluctant to use their own resources in these dangerous conflicts.

On a side note, I know someone who was involved in flying shipments of African aid. I do not know if it is true .... but he told me that these transport companies make more money from shipping aid than weapons. Apparently Governments are more willing to pay for the transport of aid than the arms merchants are willing to pay for shipping weapons. Figure that one out.