Africa's crises means arms trade thrives  Oct. 11, 2010 at 1:34
PM   |   0 comments  PRETORIA, South Africa, Oct. 11 (UPI) --
Viktor Bout, a Russian who allegedly sold vast amounts of
weapons that fueled Africa's countless wars over the last two
decades, is awaiting extradition from Thailand to the United
States on terrorism-related charges.  His arrest in a U.S. sting
operation in March 2008 for plotting to sell 700 anti-aircraft
missiles and other weapons to Colombian rebels may have ended
his long career as the most prolific merchant of death in Africa
but it hasn't stopped that deadly trade.  On Sept. 30, U.S.
federal prosecutors said the defense minister of the troubled
West African state of Ivory Coast, Michal Amani N'Guessan, was
involved in a plot to smuggle weapons from the United States in
defiance of a U.N. arms embargo.  The minister was luckier than
Bout. He and others implicated in the $3.8 million plot have
diplomatic immunity to shield them from prosecution.  But his
front man, Col. Yao N'Gues