Alwaght- Amnesty International says United States and Britain arms sold to Saudi Arabia are being used in the Yemen conflict leading to a rise in civilian deaths.
According to Amnesty’s International regional deputy director, James Lynch, the US and the UK, the two largest arms suppliers to the Saudi regime should to halt the “reckless” transfer of “arms for use in the Yemen conflict,” which was leading to a rise in civilian deaths.
In a Tuesday statement, Lynch, Saudi Arabia’s’ foreign allies have been instigating current tensions by “flooding the region with arms” which could be used for serious violations.
Amnesty also criticized Riyadh for “repeatedly” using prohibited cluster munitions in attacks that have “killed and maimed civilians.”
Amnesty said that Washington and London, the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, "have continued to allow transfers of the type of arms that have been used to commit and facilitate serious abuses, generating a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented scale."
The group said it has documented since the beginning of the conflict at least 32 air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition "that appear to have violated international humanitarian law".
Amnesty also accused the coalition of having "repeatedly used cluster munitions, inherently indiscriminate weapons whose use is prohibited, in attacks that have killed and maimed civilians."
On February 25, the European Parliament called for an EU-wide arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, Amnesty said.
"In the absence of a Security Council embargo, Amnesty International is calling on all states to ensure that no party to the conflict in Yemen is supplied â- either directly or indirectly â- with weapons, munitions, military equipment or technology that would be used in the conflict."
Human Rights Watch has also urged the United States, Britain and France to suspend all weapons sales until Saudi Arabia curtails its air strikes. Saudi Arabia is the world's second-largest arms importer and the United States and Britain are its main suppliers.
The World Health Organization says fighting in Yemen has killed almost 6,300 people, half of them civilians, since the commencement of the Saudi-led aggression late March 2015 and the United Nations has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. Yemeni sources say over 8,500 people, mostly civilians including at least 2000 children, have killed in the ongoing Saudi aggression on the impoverished state.
