(JUBA, South Sudan) — Sudan has supplied weapons and ammunition to rebels fighting neighboring South Sudan's government, says a report from the Small Arms Survey, an independent Swiss research group. Sudan denies having links to rebels led by David Yau Yau, who is based in the restive Jonglei state. But the research group says it has evidence Sudan airdropped weapons to the rebels between August and December last year. The Swiss group released its report on Friday, three days before a joint Sudan-South Sudan committee meets to discuss the prickly issue of rebel groups that are based in both countries. South Sudan accuses Sudan of supporting Yau Yau's rebellion in order to block South Sudan's plans to build an oil pipeline through Ethiopia, said South Sudan's government spokesman, Barnaba Marial Benjamin. Currently South Sudan can only export its oil using pipelines in Sudan. A dispute over oil transit fees with Khartoum led South Sudan to shut down its oil industry early last year. In the last month the two governments reached a deal on oil exports through Sudanese facilities. Juba resumed pumping oil with crude expected to reach international markets in May. "We have Total Oil Company that has got rights to exploit oil in that territory, a company that is ready to go in (but) the Sudan government is not conformable with this. So there are economic strategic reasons why the Sudan government does not want any stability in that area," Benjamin said in a recent interview. Researchers with the Small Arms Survey went to Pibor in Jonglei state in February where the group says they documented weapons and ammunition in possession of a group led by former rebel commander James Kubrin, who defected with more than a hundred men from David Yau Yau's militia in December last year. Rebels told the research group that Sudan was the primary supplier of their weapons and ammunitions. The report said that an examination of the weapons and ammunitions showed they were identical to those commonly used by the Sudanese army. "One(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=81493&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin