Friday, July 6, 2012

Syria: Swiss government suspended arms shipments to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday amid a report that hand grenades made in Switzerland had found their way to Syria.



Published on 6 Jul 2012 by

Initial findings by the Swiss authorities indicated that the grenade in question was indeed of Swiss origin and was made by Ruag, an arms manufacturer based in Bern, and originates from a shipment made by RUAG to the United Arab Emirates in 2003.

A total of 225,160 hand grenades was exported to the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. The Swiss authorities say the grenade shown in the picture was part of a shipment by the state-owned Ruag arms manufacturing company to the UAE in 2003. A senior UAE official signed a declaration not to re-export any of the 225,160 grenades supplied.