In the News: Africans Block Chinese Arms Shipment from Entering Zimbabwe

A Chinese ship attempting to deliver weapons to Zimbabwe’s military may return home after a coalition of trade unions, church leaders and human rights groups convinced southern African governments not to allow the weapons to be unloaded in their ports. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the cargo will most likely return to China, even though the shipment is part of a “normal military trade.” The coalition argued that the weapons could increase violence within Zimbabwe, a landlocked country with no port of its own, where President Robert Mugabe has refused to release the results of a recent presidential election.

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