Arms Struggle

BIGGEST ARMS EXPORTERS
1. USA - $12.8bn
2. Russia - $7.4bn
3. France - $6.2bn
4. Israel - $4.4bn
5. UK - $4.1bn
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.Figures are for 2007 and exclude
China, which does not release data on the value of its arms exports.

UK-based arms dealers may have been selling former Soviet weapons from Ukraine to blacklisted countries, a cross-party group of MPs has warned.
MPs said there were ongoing concerns about ex-Soviet weapons "ending up in undesirable locations".
In their report, the MPs said the government must do more to ensure equipment is not being used against civilians in war zones and highlighted concerns arms exported from the UK have been used against civilians in Sri Lanka's civil war.
Britain and other EU countries are reported to have sold arms to the country's government in the final three years of its conflict with the Tamil Tigers.
The MPs say applications for licences for arms exports to Israel and Sri Lanka should continue to be assessed case-by-case.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The government shares the committees' concerns regarding military exports fuelling conflict in countries such as Sri Lanka.
"As a result of the intensified fighting in Sri Lanka earlier this year, the government launched a full review of export licensing decisions to Sri Lanka. In particular, whether there was a need to revoke any licences that were now in breach of the criteria governing export controls.