“British sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia have topped £1.1bn in just six months, according to Government figures.” The independent said .
The latest statistics released by the Department for International Trade (DIT) showed the UK sold £836m of arms and military hardware to Saudi Arabia between April and June – up from £280m between January and March.
The UK’s sale of weapons to the kingdom has been condemned by campaigners and the Labour party as its bombing campaign against Yemen continues.
Around 10,000 people have died in the two-and-a-half-year conflict .Schools, hospitals and food factories have been repeatedly hit in a conflict which has been described by the United Nations as a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
But the UK Government has repeatedly defended its decision to continue sending arms to the country. In October last year Saudi Arabia admitted to dropping two bombs on a funeral in Sana’a, killing 140 people and wounding 600 others, saying they received faulty intelligence that Houthi rebel leaders were in the packed hall. It initially denied it was behind the bombing.
