Free Republic

According to an inside source, the military collaborations between Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the Gaddafi government date back to 2006.In an interview today on the Al Arabyia news network, an informed source within the Revolutionary Guards Corps revealed that Iran has several military bases in Libya. The source, who requested anonymity due to his sensitive position within the Guards, elaborated further that the Iranian military bases are located mostly along Libya’s borders with the African countries of Chad and Niger. From there, he said, the Guards actively smuggle arms and supply logistical assistance to rebellious groups in the African countries.According...

Egyptian maritime authorities have seized a ship with a crew of 14 and a cargo of 105 crates of unspecified weapons and ammunition, which belonged to an African security company, Egyptian security officials told AFP. The military's spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Ali said on his Facebook page the ship belonged to a company that secures maritime routes in the Red Sea, a haven of Somalia-based pirates. "The weapons and ammunition on this ship are related to its work and mission to secure commercial vessels," he said. But Israel's Channel 10 television contradicted the Egyptian military's version, reporting that the boat...

LA PAZ, Dec 6 (Reuters) - In a violent show of anti-Venezuela sentiment, a crowd of about 200 Bolivians hurled stones at a Venezuelan military plane and prevented it from refueling after it landed on Thursday, local radio reported. After hearing the incoming plane, the mob seized control of the airport in the Amazonian city of Riberalta and attacked the aircraft. Regional leaders had said they suspected it was carrying arms and not humanitarian supplies, according to the radio reports. "We won't put up with these Venezuelans who come to the country and do whatever they want. We won't let...

China said Thursday it was investigating whether a shipment of North Korean arms destined for Congo in violation of UN sanctions transited Chinese territory. UN diplomats said Tuesday that South Africa had notified the UN Security Council panel monitoring sanctions imposed on North Korea that the weapons had been seized in November. "China is looking into this issue... the Chinese side will also take part in relevant discussions," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said, in response to a report that the shipment went through the port of Dalian in northeast China. The spokesman refused further comment. China is North Korea's...

A planeload of North Korean arms seized in Bangkok was reportedly bound for Iran, which has been buying up large amounts of weaponry in recent months as it braces for a possible onslaught by Israel, and possibly the United States. Mystery has shrouded the destination of the Georgian-registered Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane that was found be to carrying 35 tons of arms, including surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, in 12 crates when it was detained during a refueling stop on Dec. 11 following a tip-off from U.S. intelligence. The five-man crew, all former Soviet air force members from Belarus and...

An illicit North Korean arms shipment seized in Thailand last week was destined for the Middle East, the head of US intelligence said Friday. About 30 tonnes of sanctions-busting weapons were confiscated in Bangkok on Saturday but it had remained unclear where the North Korean shipment was headed. "Teamwork among different agencies in the United States and partners abroad just last week led to the interdiction of a Middle East-bound cargo of North Korean weapons," Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, wrote in a commentary in the Washington Post. Blair's reference marked the first public comment by the administration...

Tehran, April 7, IRNA -- Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said here Sunday that arms shipment and dispatch of troops by Islamic countries to Palestine was the best assistance to the popular uprising in the occupied lands. "I stress that if we could put arms and troops at the disposal of Palestinians, we will have made the best assistance but the stance of some countries neighboring Israel has made the realization of this issue difficult," he told IRNA. "If we could open fronts, similar to those in Lebanon and other regions, against Israel, this will definitely prove effective in...