200811142281 | Sudan acquires 12 Fighter jets from Russia

Sudan acquires 12 Fighter jets from Russia

Moscow - Russia has sold 12 MiG-29 fighter jets to Sudan, Sudanese Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein said during a visit to Moscow on Friday, Russian news agencies reported. "Yes, it's all done. The planes have been bought," the defence minister was quoted as saying to reporters at a briefing in Moscow, in response to a question about a contract for the purchase of the 12 planes.

"We are very satisfied with our military relations with Russia," he said.

Russia was accused by human rights group Amnesty International last year of violating a UN resolution by supplying arms to Sudan that were then used in the war-torn Darfur region, a charge rejected by Russia's foreign ministry.

The UN Security Council imposed an embargo on sales and deliveries of arms to Darfur in 2004.

About 300 000 people have died in the civil war in Darfur since 2003 and two million more have fled their homes, according to UN figures, although some sources put the toll much higher while Sudan says just 10 000 have died.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir earlier this month declared a ceasefire in Darfur. The main rebel movemment in the region, the Justice and Equality Movement, has dismissed Beshir's call as a propaganda stunt for the West.