China recalls Zimbabwe armsamid election crisis

A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African workers refused to unload the vessel and other neighbouring countries barred it from their ports, China said yesterday.

The recall of the An Yue Jiang, carrying 77 tonnes of assault rifle ammunition, mortars and rifle grenades, came after unprecedented regional opposition in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe's election crisis.

No results have been announced for the March 29 presidential vote, while the outcome of a parliamentary poll which the opposition won is also in doubt because of partial recounts.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he won the presidential election outright and has accused President Robert Mugabe of delaying results to rig victory and keep his 28-year hold on power.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Jiang Yu told a news conference in Beijing that the ship is to be recalled after it was unable to offload its cargo. "To my knowledge, the Chinese company has decided to recall the ship and the relevant goods bound for Zimbabwe," Ms Jiang said.

She defended the shipment in the face of criticism from New York-based Human Rights Watch, which said that any state that sent arms and ammunition to Zimbabwe could be complicit in the country's rights abuses. Neighbouring Zambia had also said the weapons could worsen Zimbabwe's crisis.

The EU already has an arms embargo against Zimbabwe, part of sanctions in place since 2002. The US has also imposed sanctions and former colonial power Britain wants a wider arms embargo.

But South African ruling African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, who has become the most outspoken African leader on Zimbabwe, said it was not yet time to impose an arms embargo. "I think it is going too far and I think it complicates a situation that needs to be handled with great care," Mr Zuma told reporters in London.

Mr Zuma, who has distanced himself from the "quiet diplomacy" of South African President Thabo Mbeki, has called on African leaders to take action to unlock the stalemate in Zimbabwe, whose economic collapse has driven millions of Zimbabweans abroad and put a strain on the region.

Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he supported all efforts to stop arms flowing into Zimbabwe. He also called on African leaders to convince Mr Mugabe to step down.