Local Editor

The UK government revealed on Tuesday some details of its support for Saudi Arabia’s bombing aggression in Yemen, which includes an undisclosed number of British personnel currently stationed at the Saudi-led coalition headquarters. 

British Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Penny Mordaunt, said that over 150 Britons are working "to support Saudi Arabia" in response to a question from Green Party MP Caroline Lucas on the Yemeni conflict.

An undisclosed number of British "liaison personnel" are working at the "Saudi and coalition air and maritime headquarters," according to Mordaunt’s statement.

The minister did not reveal details of the work being done at the coalition headquarters, but did say that "none of these personnel are participating directly in Saudi military operations".

She further said that another unspecified amount of Britons are based at the "Maritime Coalition Coordination Centre in Bahrain" in order to, she continued, "help ease the flow of humanitarian aid into Yemen".

However, human rights activists told Middle East Eye that the British government’s statement does not clearly state its role in the Saudi-led coalition.

"The UK’s role, if there is a role, in Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Yemen remains unclear, despite this statement by the government," said Sayed al-Wadaei, director of advocacy at the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.

"The answer given by Penny Mordaunt does not clarify what exactly all the British staff are doing at the Saudi and coalition Air and Maritime Headquarters, where, I assume, the Yemen bombing campaign is being coordinated."

The Saudi-led coalition has been accused of breaching international law during its airstrikes, by a UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen. 

Furthermore, Mordaunt also revealed some details of other British military support to Saudi Arabia, which is taking place "under existing government-to-government arrangements".

Eleven British personnel are "providing mentoring and advice" to the Saudi National Guard, which is a special arm of the Gulf state’s forces that is tasked with protecting the royal family from potential crises including coups.

Seventy-six military and 42 civilian staff from the UK are working with Saudi’s Ministry of Defence "supporting the UK’s commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia through the supply of modern military aircraft, naval vessels, weapons and associated support services to the Saudi Armed Forces".

The British government, through Minister of State for Defence Earl Howe, earlier this month [July] said they were "not participating directly in Saudi-led military operations in Yemen".

Howe did say the UK has provided "technical support, precision-guided weapons and exchanged information with the Saudi Arabian armed forces," while also confirming the presence of British staff at the Saudi and coalition air and maritime headquarters.

Saudi Arabia is UK’s top export market for weapons. The coalition government, which served from May 2010 until May this year [2015], approved £4bn worth of weapons sales to Riyadh during its tenure.

In a recent column for Middle East Eye David Wearing, who advises the Campaign Against Arms Trade, accused the UK of being complicit in contributing to Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and called on the government to revise its relationship with Saudi Arabia.