Local Editor
A group of European charities that deal with children's issued a report warning that British made weapons are possibly being used in wars involving child soldiers, including the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
The report - compiled by Terre des Hommes, Brot für die Welt, Kindernothilfe and the German Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers - found that German arms manufacturers Heckler & Koch [H&K] is using its UK subsidiaries as a way to bypass obstacles to arms exports.
H&K have been operating in Britain since the '70s when the Ministry of Defense [MoD] licensed the company to produce and assemble some of its weapons.
The report added that the arms giant sends some of its merchandise - like ammunition and small firearms - to be sold in conflict regions through the British market every time German political powers oppose the company's sales.
In 2000 H&K decided to sell arms in the ongoing conflict in Nepal, but when Germany opposed the deal, the company sent 6,780 rifles to Great Britain, which were then granted an export license by the UK government.
"In the end, it remains unclear if and how many rifles were exported. But even if this deal didn't manifest itself, it nevertheless illustrates how useful such foreign subsidiaries can be," the report said.
"The UK has consistently armed and supported some of the most brutal and unstable regimes in the world," Campaign Against Arms Trade [CATT] spokesman Andrew Smith told RT.
"Arms companies don't care where their arms end up, and who they are used against. They work with the UK because they know that it means very little transparency and that Whitehall will help them every step of the way."
Source: RT, Edited by Website Team
