The report by German public broadcaster ARD, which was to be aired late on Sunday, claims that Georgian elite forces in the rebel province of South Ossetia were supplied with German weapons manufactured by arms company Heckler & Koch based in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The broadcaster’s “Report Mainz” program shows images of Georgian soldiers in South Ossetia with German-made assault rifles slung over their shoulders, German media reported.
The German arms manufacturer refused to comment on the report, the broadcaster said.
Weapons exported illegally to Georgia?
It remains unclear how the German weapons made their way into the war zone. The German Economics Ministry insisted it had not issued a permit for the supply of the German arms to Georgia, the report said.
It cited British magazine Jane’s Defence Weekly as saying that Heckler & Koch had applied to the German government to supply 230 models of the G36, a German 5.56 mm assault rifle, in different versions to Georgia.
But the German Economics Ministry rejected the application on grounds that Georgia was involved in a war, according to the magazine. MORE>>>
Too bad the Georgians don’t know how to use them!