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Special Investigative Project by BIRN Tracks Arms Trade from Europe to the Middle East
An investigation by BIRN and OCCRP has revealed that some of the €1.2 billion in weapons sales from the region has been diverted to Syria and Yemen. Graphic courtesy of BIRN.
A year-long investigation by RBF grantee the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and its partner the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has revealed the emergence of a €1.2 billion arms pipeline fueling conflict in the Middle East. Their reporting tracked more than 60 cargo flights carrying weapons and material from Central and Eastern Europe to Middle Eastern states and Turkey. Evidence indicates that much of the trade was eventually diverted to the brutal civil wars in Syria and Yemen, putting the legality of the sales in question. Coverage of the story was also picked up by The Guardian and the BBC.
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Balkan Insight/BIRN: “Balkan Arms Trade: Making a Killing”
The Guardian: “Revealed: the £1bn of weapons flowing from Europe to Middle East” (July 27, 2016)