Imad Kebir

Imad Kebir is a Lebanese national who is suspected of being an arms dealer. He was in Africa as a diamond trader during the 1990s, and may still reside in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He is said to have ties with such groups as UNITA and Hezbollah.

Zaire

During the 1990s, and allegedly due to assistance from Iranian intelligence agents, Kebir was close to then-president of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. A Belgian intelligence report states Kebir was "...directly tied to MOBUTU’S entourage," headed 'Byblos', a firm in Zaire, and worked with Zairean Generals Nzimbi and Baramoto.

Angola

Entering Angola as a diamond buyer in mid-1995, he was allegedly acting as an arms dealer less than a year later.

UNITA

Kebir is said to have worked closely with Zairian generals between 1995 and 1999 to arm UNITA, a faction involved in Angola's 1975-2002 civil war, and to have met with UNITA General Jacinto Bandua, who was in charge of "strategic procurement" for the group at the time. He may have first become involved with UNITA through the Angolan diamond trade. He is alleged to have employed Viktor Bout to transport weapons, using Zairean end user certificates.

Sanctions against UNITA