China, Russia breach Darfur arms embargo -Amnesty

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) Human rights group Amnesty International accused Russia and China today of breaching a United Nations arms embargo by letting weapons into Sudan, where they are used in ''grave violations'' of international law.

Amnesty said it was ''deeply dismayed'' by the flow of arms allowed by China and Russia, both members of the United Nations Security Council, and said the weapons were often diverted to be used in conflict in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.

''The authority of the Security Council itself is being greatly undermined as the Sudanese authorities and armed groups in Darfur are allowed to act with such obvious impunity before the eyes of the world, importing and diverting arms to commit flagrant violations of international law,'' Amnesty said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu dismissed suggestions that China was continuing to sell arms to Sudan, saying Beijing has strict rules about its arms exports. She said such accusations were ''totally unreasonable''.

The United Nations says around 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been made homeless since conflict flared in Darfur in 2003 when rebel groups took up arms against the Khartoum government, accusing it of neglect. Khartoum says only 9,000 have lost their lives.

One main group signed a 2006 peace agreement with the government and small factions later committed themselves to the deal, but it has so far failed to stop the violence.

The United Nations accused Khartoum in a report last month of violating UN resolutions by flying weapons and other military equipment into Darfur.

Both the United Nations and the Amnesty reports also accused the Sudanese government of using planes painted white to make them look like UN aircraft to bomb and carry out surveillance of villages in the violence-torn western region.

Amnesty urged the international community and Security Council to ''act decisively to strengthen the design and implementation of the UN arms embargo on Darfur'' until there was no longer a danger that arms would be misused.

China buys much of Sudan's oil, and as a permanent member of the Security Council has resisted proposals to send UN peacekeepers into Darfur without Sudan's consent.

REUTERS NY BD1712