The UK government is “complicit” in Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen as London is working closely with the US and Israel to support Riyadh, which has been the main supporter of extremism and the Daesh (ISIL) terror group in the Middle East, says an academic in London.
Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen has resulted in the death of about 11,500 people, left 40,000 others wounded, displaced millions and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, professor Rodney Shakespeare told Press TV on Tuesday.
“The UK is complicit in this and the reason why we are complicit is that we are hand in glove with Israel and the USA in ultimately supporting a monstrous, Daesh-ISIL structure in the Middle East,” Shakespeare said. Britain claims the Saudi arms sales benefit the UK economy, but there would be a much greater benefit if London ensures the Saudi regime is overthrown, he said.
The UK High Court is set to review the country’s weapons deals with Saudi Arabia, after activists accused the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May of complicity in Riyadh’s war crimes against Yemen.
The court will start the landmark case Tuesday and is expected to reach a conclusion in three days.
Brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), the case includes submissions from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
“For almost two years now, the UK has been complicit in the destruction of Yemen. UK fighter jets and bombs have played a central role in the bombardment, and UK political support has helped to underpin and legitimize it,” said Andrew Smith, a spokesman for CAAT.
The Saudi war on Yemen, which was launched in March 2015, has killed thousands of civilians, and unleashed a humanitarian crisis in the improvised Middle Eastern country.
The war was launched in an attempt to bring back the former government to power and undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/02/07/509573/UK-court-Saudi-Yemen-arms-Rodney-Shakespeare
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