S. Africa urges release of Zimbabwe vote results

The Beeld newspaper reported it was carrying nearly 3 million rounds of ammunitions for small arms and AK-47s, about 3,500 mortars and mortar launchers, as well as 1,500 rockets for rocket-propelled grenades. The paper said it had a copy of the ship's cargo documentation, finalized on April 1, three days after Zimbabwe's election.

Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe does not need weapons. "We are not at war," he said at a news conference Thursday in Johannesburg. "The only war that is there is Mugabe's war against the people."

A South African government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed there were weapons on board but gave no further details. Durban port authorities and police explosives inspectors could not be reached for comment.

Defense Secretary January Masilela told South African radio that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee granted approval for the transit of the weapons.

"If the buyer is the Zimbabwean sovereign government and the seller is the Chinese sovereign government, South Africa has nothing to do with that," he told the radio. He said South Africa worked according to established international conventions but had no jurisdiction over goods in transit.

The government official who approved the transit, Sydney Mufamadi, is the same official who heads the team mediating in the Zimbabwe crisis.

The South African Revenue Service said customs officials were bound by confidentiality rules and could not give details of the content of the cargo. It said the vessel would be subject to standard inspection procedures and the cargo would not be released until it was proved that it complied with customs formalities — which can be a lengthy process.

Tsvangirai said importing arms instead of food for impoverished Zimbabweans is "disgusting. It only shows the warped nature of the priorities of this regime: that they are more preoccupied with the defense-power project than anything else."

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