Government rejects MPs’ call to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia over alleged war crimes

The Government has rejected calls by two parliamentary committees for it to stop the sale of British bombs to Saudi Arabia’s armed forces in Yemen.

 

 

The Government has rejected calls by two parliamentary committees for it to stop the sale of British bombs to Saudi Arabia’s armed forces in Yemen.

Saudi forces have been widely accused of committing war crimes during the campaign in the country, where reports on the ground suggest they have blown up international hospitals, funerals, schools, and weddings.

Despite the reported incidents and the worsening humanitarian situation in the country since the bombardment began, the UK has signed off £3.3 billion in arms sales to the country since the start of the offensive.

The country has been overtaken by famine with 370,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition and 1.5 million are going hungry overall, according to Unicef figures released in October.