Ireland is trading military goods with the Zimbabwe Government, according to reports this morning.
The Irish Examiner reports that last year Ireland sent £4.4m worth of goods to the African country, including two shipments of goods which could have been used for military purposes.
Zimbabwe is currently in crisis because of racial tensions heightened by President Robert Mugabe’s controversial programme of land reforms.
Mugabe fought for the country’s independence from Britain, but since taking power, he has severely mishandled the economy and has evicted white farmers from their land to return it to the country’s impoverished native blacks.
Irish aid agencies have likened Mr Mugabe’s actions to those of former Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic.