US calls on China to halt Zimbabwe arms shipment

The US State Department has asked China to withdraw an arms shipment to Zimbabwe and halt further such shipments to the African country, AFP reported. A Chinese ship, the An Yue Jiang, has had to abandon plans to offload arms in the South African port of Durban, following a court case that barred it from transporting the arms overland to Zimbabwe. The ship is now reportedly headed to Angola to unload. The An Yue Jiang is said to be carrying 3 million rounds of assault rifle ammunition, 3,000 mortar rounds and 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, possibly to be used in quelling protests following a contentious Zimbabwe election. Beijing has defended the shipment, saying the China Ocean Shipping Company shipment is a part of normal bi-lateral trade, but said that the arms might be returned to China due to problems offloading the shipment.