Spain drops Saudi Arabia arms deal for bombs over Yemen civil war crime allegations

Spain had signed a deal to sell Saudi Arabia 400 state-of-the-art laser-guided bombs in 2015.

کد خبر: ۸۳۲۴۹۱

تاریخ: ۱۹ شهريور ۱۳۹۷ - ۰۸:۴۸

However a Spanish government spokesman told The Independent that this has now been cancelled.

The $10 million (£7.8 million) which Saudi Arabia had already paid for the weapons will now be refunded.

Just last month Spain’s Defence Ministry said it would not sell arms to countries which used them against civilian populations.

It added that deals already agreed could be re-evaluated to ensure they meet this criteria.

The Spanish government also condemned civilian deaths during the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

Spain’s new social democrat government, which assumed power in June under Pedro Sanchez, appears more reluctant to make arms sales than its conservative predecessor.

Yemen has been rocked by civil war since 2015, which has seen government forces, Houthi rebels and an Al-Qaeda affiliate battle for control of the country.

Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf Arab states, intervened militarily in 2015 to support government forces.

The Saudis claimed the Houthis were receiving support from Iran, their regional rival.

However the Saudis, along with other factions in the conflict, have been accused of carrying out war crimes.

Amnesty International condemned Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the conflict, stating: “The Saudi Arabia-led coalition supporting the internationally recognised Yemeni government continued to bomb civilian infrastructure and carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians.”

Last month a school bus was hit by a Saudi coalition airstrike killing dozens, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute from 2013 to 2017, 8.3 percent of Spain’s arms exports went to Saudi Arabia.

Spain also has a €1.8 billion (£1.6 billion) deal to supply warships to the Saudi navy, which was agreed in April.

There is no indication yet that this deal will be affected.