UK weapons companies earn over £6bn from Yemen war
madaresharghi British arms companies have earned more than £6 billion from their trade with Saudi Arabia during the ongoing war in Yemen, new research has found. War Child UK claimed the true revenue from dealings with the Persian Gulf state are almost double previous estimates, despite only around £30 million going to the public through […]
British arms companies have earned more than £6 billion from their trade with Saudi Arabia during the ongoing war in Yemen, new research has found.
War Child UK claimed the true revenue from dealings with the Persian Gulf state are almost double previous estimates, despite only around £30 million going to the public through corporation tax receipts, The Independent reported.
The charity accused private manufacturers including BAE Systems and Raytheon of “profiteering from the deaths of innocent children” by selling missiles and equipment to the Saudi-led coalition.
It stands accused of committing war crimes and killing thousands of civilians with its bombing campaign against Yemenis.
Rocco Blume, a conflict and humanitarian advisor at War Child, said Britain is not only selling arms to Saudi forces but maintaining them as well.
The estimated revenue from ongoing support pushed the estimated revenue far above the £3.6 billion figure announced by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade last week.
“We all want to see productive international trade, but this is damaging,” Blume said.
“The revenue has to be seen in the context of all the other costs incurred in this trade, especially to our international reputation, particularly on human rights.”
Blume said there was a “lack of transparency” on the extent of British firms’ involvement amid a global weakening of protections for children in conflicts including Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
He also raised concern that the UK was becoming “less fussy” about international trading partners as Brexit approaches.
BAE Systems and Raytheon were among the exhibitors at an arms fair held in London last week, which was supported by government ministers and senior military commanders.
Saudi Arabia was blacklisted by the United Nations for committing grave violations against children last year but later removed from the list after protests from the country’s government.
MPs and humanitarian organizations have called on the British government to end arms sales to Riyadh, but it won a legal challenge mounted by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade in July.
The High Court ruled that the trade did not break the law because there was no evidence of the Saudi-led coalition deliberately targeting civilians, while it investigates alleged civilian casualties.
Saudi Arabia launched its military campaign in Yemen in March of 2015. The aggression has killed over 12,000 Yemenis, many of them women and children.