Sudan has used oil revenues to double its military budget in an attempt to stop the advance by rebels in the south, according to a report by the Middle East Newsline (MENL) on Thursday.
Diplomats and Western analysts were quoted as saying that the Sudanese government has bought new aircraft and other systems from such countries as Belarus and China. They said the Sudanese government had used the new equipment to intensify the civil war in the south.
The analysts said that over the last two years, Khartoum had focused its procurement activity on air systems, particularly attack helicopters and bombers from the former Soviet Union.
In addition, Sudan has purchased T-55 tanks from Poland via Yemen, said the report.
In all, they said, Sudan could be spending nearly $18 billion on the military during 2001.
In 1999, the figure was estimated to be about $9 billion, the MENL report said – Albawaba.com
