A herd of elephants at a watering hole in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (AFP) .

In a new report, the wildlife conservation body- Care for the Wild International, cited Khartoum-based ivory craftsmen as implicating the Sudanese government army of poaching animals from the war-ravaged Southern Sudan.

A researcher sponsored by the British animal welfare group, Bradley Martin said here Monday that Khartoum has become the hub of illegal ivory trade across the Eastern Africa region.

Martin told a news conference in Nairobi that Sudanese artisans and shopkeepers had indicated the poachers were mainly members of the Sudanese Army who possess the necessary firearms and ammunition. These also have access to government transport to move tusks to Khartoum.

The British animal welfare group said elephant tusks originate from the Central Africa Republic, Kenya and Chad. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also a major contributor to the illegal ivory trade across the globe.

Dr. Martin, a wildlife trade specialist, said the ivory market in Khartoum situated along the River Nile has recently turned into one of the largest in the world. He counted over 11,0000 ivory arms in 50 souvenir shops in Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum north.

Most tusks for the craftsmen in the traditional Arab city come from the recently poached elephants in the Southern Sudan, he charged.

According to ivory traders in Khartoum, transportation costs needed to move tusks from the south to Omdurman were very high making it uneconomical for small-scale traders.

Martin quoted the vendors, traders and craftsmen as sasying only a small number of businessmen are involved because the cost of private motorized transport from the south to the northern part of the country were prohibitive.

Trade in ivory is legal in Sudan despite an international ban on ivory trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) treaty. Traders are only required to show government licenses to facilitate the movement of the ivory items.

Animal welfare groups say the development is a slap on the face of attempts to preserve elephants and other wildlife whose poaching has been an issue of concern among conservation circles.

Sudan not only has one of the largest retail markets for ivory in Africa, but raw tusks are also moved through Khartoum and Omdurman to Egypt where there is a flourishing ivory market.

The United States recently opposed the trafficking in ivory, saying it would not support the stealing of Africa's natural resources to be used for beautifying sitting rooms in Europe and the Middle East.