U.S. Navy says hijacked weapons headed to Sudan, not Kenya

A U.S. Navy spokesman said a weapons shipment on a Ukrainian ship hijacked by Somali pirates was headed to Sudan, not Kenya.

Lt. Nathan Christensen, a deputy spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, said the buyers in Sudan are unknown.

A 5th Fleet statement Monday said the ship was headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but that “additional reports state the cargo was intended for Sudan.”

Kenya has claimed it was the buyer for the shipment, which includes T-72 battle tanks.

The U.N. has imposed an arms embargo on weapons headed to Sudan’s Darfur conflict zone. But the ban does not cover other weapons sales to the Khartoum government or the southern Sudan’s autonomous government.