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By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
SENIOR figures in the Syrian regime were accused yesterday of making millions of pounds by illegally supplying Iraq with weapons in the run-up to the US-led invasion.
According to 800 pages of documents collected by German and American journalists from the offices of an Iraqi company in Baghdad, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad was far more deeply involved in helping Saddam Hussein to break a United Nations arms embargo than was previously suspected.
The allegations are likely to increase pressure on a country already facing sanctions from Washington to force it to stop supporting militant groups, dismantle its chemical and biological weapons programmes and stop fighters crossing into Iraq to attack coalition troops.
The evidence against the Syrians is in contracts, shipping manifests and other commercial records found at the offices of the Al Bashair Trading Co, the largest of several front companies used by Iraq to circumvent more than a decade of UN sanctions.
The contracts include the sale of 1,000 Russian-built heavy machine guns and 20 million rounds of ammunition for assault rifles; 380 engines for SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles made by the Polish company Evax; telecommunications equipment used for air defence from the South Korean company Armitel; US-made surveillance equipment sold by the Russian company Millenium, and 20 tank barrels from STO in Slovenia.
The deals were made through SES International, a Syrian firm based in Damascus which is run by leading figures in the ruling Baath Party.
The documents, which were found by Stern magazine and translated by the Los Angeles Times, showed that SES International signed scores of contracts worth tens of millions of pounds for arms and defence equipment over the past three years. The general manager is Asef Isa Shaleesh, a cousin of President al-Assad. Another relative, Major General Dhu Himma Shaleesh, the head of the elite presidential security corps, is said to have held a stake.
According to the files, Mr Shaleesh made at least four visits to Baghdad between the summer of 2001 and 2002 and was involved in 50 arms deals.
The Foreign Ministry in Damascus said yesterday that it was aware of the allegations but did not want to comment. The issue is likely to be taken up by Margaret Scoby, the newly appointed US ambassador to Damascus.
December 31, 2003 at 04:42 AM in Syria | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home