Stop UK-made weapons to Saudis taking Yemeni lives, Amnesty urges

Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following a Saudi-led coalition air strike on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sana’a on February 1, 2017. (AFP photo)

Amnesty International has urged the British people to petition their lawmakers to pressure the UK government to immediately halt arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh is launching indiscriminate attacks against Yemeni schools, hospitals, mosques and funeral halls, and London risks complicity in acts that amount to war crimes, the UK-based human rights group said in a statement on Thursday.

“Schools, hospitals, mosques, funeral halls - it seems nothing is off-limits for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and their campaign of air strikes on Yemen,” Amnesty said in its petition.

“We know that UK-made weapons are amongst those claiming Yemeni lives. By continuing to supply Saudi Arabia and the coalition with arms, the UK risks complicity in acts that may amount to war crimes,” it added.

“The UK government is now being taken to court over the legality of these arms transfers – and they are feeling the pressure. Now is the time to act. Tell your MP to call for an immediate end to UK arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.”

The prominent rights organization has previously condemned  London for licensing arms worth billions of pounds to Riyadh despite damning evidence of atrocities being committed.

Massive British arms sales to Saudi Arabia have come under scrutiny for months due to the kingdom’s role in inflicting heavy civilian casualties through its bombing campaign across Yemen.

The UK High Court is set to review the country’s weapons deals with Saudi Arabia, after activists accused the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May of complicity in Riyadh’s war crimes against Yemen.

The United States is also providing logistic and surveillance support to Saudi Arabia in its military aggression against Yemen.

Saudi Arabia launched a war against Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to bring back the former government to power and undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The offensive was launched to undermine the Ansarullah movement and reinstate Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

The war has killed over 12,000 people and unleashed a humanitarian crisis in the improvished Middle Eastern country.