EU blasts UK over weapons sales to Saudi Arabia

File photo shows UK PM David Cameron (L) and Saudi king Salman (R)

The European Parliament has lashed out at Britain for its continued arms trade with Saudi Arabia, amid growing evidence of Riyadh’s indiscriminate bombing of Yemen.

The UK government has come under fire for selling over 4.3 billion dollars worth of weapons to the ultra-consecutive Persian Gulf kingdom in 2015.

Britain has even been accused of being involved in the conduct of the Saudi military campaign in Yemen.

Now, the European Parliament is planning to discuss a draft resolution, calling for an EU-wide ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The resolution, which is due to be discussed on February 25, also condemns Britain’s involvement in the war. It also strongly criticizes the intensive arms trade between EU member states and various countries in the region.

The resolution calls for an immediate suspension of arms transfers and military support to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners.

Yemenis inspect the damage at a sewing workshop that was hit by a Saudi airstrike in the capital, Sana’a, on February 14, 2016. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen in late March last year in a bid to bring the country’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Riyadh ally, back to power.

Over 8,270 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed and 16,015 others injured since the onset of the aggression. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.


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