- Reports from International Committee of the Red Cross indicate 100 people killed in Saudi air strike on Yemen
- UK has licensed £5.3 billion worth of fighter jets, bombs and missiles to Saudi regime since the war began
- Saudi regime on guest list for major arms fair in London, starting on September 10 (invited by UK Government)
According to reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross, 100 people were killed in Yemen today following the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing of a detention centre. This is one of many atrocities that have been committed in a four year war that has created the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world.
Despite the regime’s appalling human rights record, it will be among those in attendance at Defence & Security Equipment International 2019, a major arms fair that will be taking place in London from September 10-13. All delegations in attendance are invited by the Department of International Trade.
Since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015, the UK has licensed £5.3 billion worth of arms to the Saudi regime, including:
- £2.7 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
- £2.5 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)
In reality the figures are likely to be a great deal higher, with most bombs and missiles being licensed via the opaque and secretive Open Licence system.
In June 2019 the Court of Appeal ruled that the Government has acted unlawfully when it licensed the sale of UK-made arms to Saudi forces for use in Yemen without making an assessment as to whether or not past incidents amounted to breaches of International Humanitarian Law. The Government was ordered not to approve any new licences and to retake the decisions on extant licences in a lawful manner.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
This awful war could not be fought without the weapons and support provided by arms-dealing Governments like the UK. The war has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. This bombing is yet another terrible atrocity that Downing Street has been totally complicit in.
In less than two week’s time, the regime will be in London for one of the biggest arms fairs in the world, where they will be encouraged to buy even more weapons. They will be there at the invite of the UK Government. No matter how dire the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has become, Boris Johnson and his colleagues have shown time and again that they will prioritise arms sales over the rights and lives of Yemeni people.
ENDS
For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
