Local Editor
Dozens of Saudi officers have been trained at prestigious British military colleges since the Saudi aggression in Yemen that has seen the Gulf state’s forces accused of widespread human rights abuses, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
According to the news outlet, more than 40 Saudi cadets – including a dozen who came last year – have been training at Sandhurst, the RAF’s school at Cranwell and the Royal Naval College since 2015.
The details were released following a freedom of information request by the Guardian that was initially rejected by the Ministry of Defence but overturned on appeal.
The Guardian added that the MoD still refused to state the amount of money that had been earned from the Saudi contracts. The MD argued it could prejudice Britain’s relations with the Saudis and that the financial information could be used by other companies or states competing with the UK to train Saudi cadets.
The majority of the 43 cadets have been training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. While the actions of Saudi air and land forces have had a high profile, the kingdom’s naval forces have been accused of killing Yemeni fishermen risking their lives to go to sea at a time when famine is ongoing.
Saudi ships have also launched strikes on territory in Yemen while the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child blamed a Saudi naval blockade for exacerbating Yemeni food insecurity that has hit children the hardest.
The Guardian quoted an MoD spokesperson as saying, “Basic initial officer training is conducted by all three services with participants from a multitude of countries, including allies and nations we have existing defence relationships with.
“The training enables cadets to learn how to be a leader alongside our service personnel, and assists in understanding and breaking down cultural barriers to improve military-to-military and national relationships.”
The UK has sold at least £5.7bn worth of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015, according to a Sky News analysis of figures published last month.
Source: Yemenwatch.net
