HRW demands inquiry into arms affair

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday it had asked the president of Burkina Faso to hold an independent inquiry into allegations that illegal arms transfers had been made from his country to rebels in Sierra Leone and Angola. "President (Blaise) Campaore must get to the bottom of these serious allegations," Joost Hilterman, the executive director of the Arms Division of HRW, said in his letter on 28 March to Campaore. Burkina Faso opposition groups have also asked the government, which has denied its involvement, to investigate. The recently published 'UN Report of the Panel of Experts on Violations of Security Council Sanctions Against UNITA' names Burkina Faso and other countries in connection with violations of sanctions. Speaking at the Security Council meeting Burkina Faso's representative, Michel Kafando, said the role of his country had been misrepresented in the report and disassociated himself from the conclusions of the panel, especially those that implicated the head of the government by name.