Local Editor

Britain’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed that its country has been arming Saudi Arabia in its deadly military aggression against Yemen.

A ministry spokesperson said that Britain’s assistance to Saudi Arabia includes providing technical support and "precision guided weapons."

The ministry spokesperson stated: "We are providing support to the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and as part of pre-existing arrangements are providing precision guided weapons to assist the Saudi Air Force".

The spokesman meanwhile also said that authorities in London had been assured that the Saudi use of the weapons comply with international law and standards. "The use of these weapons is a matter for the Saudis but we are assured that they will be used in compliance with international law."

On the other hand, anti-arms trade campaigners have already accused the British government of backing a war that has been branded "illegal" by international law experts.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) said: "The Saudi bombing has created a humanitarian catastrophe and now we know the UK weapons have contributed to it."

"These weapons have not just given military support to the bombardment, they have also provided a strong political support and underlined the closeness between the UK and Saudi governments", he further said. 

"With the destruction of Yemen and the intensifying crackdown on dissent in Saudi Arabia, the UK government is sending the message that human rights and democracy are less important than arms sales," he added.

CAAT said the "precision guided weapons" used by the Saudi Air Force are likely to be Eurofighter Typhoons or Tornado jets.

According to the CAAT, Britain is Saudi Arabia’s single biggest arms supplier.

Furthermore, an Amnesty International [AI] report has found that British fighter jets were "extremely likely" to have been used during Saudi attacks on Yemen in the 2009.

Amnesty International had called on the UK government to ensure British weapons "did not facilitate violations of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes, by the Saudi Arabian air force."

The confirmation of Britain’s indirect support for Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen comes as UN estimates say over 2,600, mostly civilians, have been killed and another 9,755 wounded as a result of the ongoing attacks on the impoverished country.