An investigation has been launched to shed light on how new Swedish-made weapons entered Burma despite European Union sanctions on arms sales to Burma.
The Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (ISP) announced that an investigation had been launched after it received information about several weapons recovered by Kachin rebels from Burmese troops in the on-going conflict.
The weapons are produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics, one of the world’s top 30 producers of arms. The company spokesman, Sebastian Carlsson announced that the company would co-operate with the inquiry.
“We don’t like our products ending up in Burma. We don’t sell to Burma,” he said.
When asked how arms could have found their way to Burma despite EU sanctions on arms sales, Carlsson refused to speculate, but mentioned that the company sold to 20 nations that he could not identify.
Violence in Kachin reignited last year, marking the end of a 17 year long ceasefire deal between the government and the Kachin rebels.
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