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Don’t sell British arms to ‘child killing Saudis' - plea on eve of legal bid to end trade with regime
Britain has licensed over £3billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia - and Saudi bombs were responsible for the attack on the Yemeni capital last October that left 613 injured
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/dont-sell-british-arms-child-9764743
Horrific details of how Saudi bombs killed 114 mourners at a funeral have emerged on the eve of a legal bid to end Britain’s arms trade with the brutal regime.
Britain has licensed over £3.3billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since bombing began in Yemen in March 2015
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade will launch a High Court bid this week to stop the sale of British arms to Saudi Arabia, which includes £2.2billion worth of aircraft, £1.1billion of grenades, bombs and missiles and £430,000 of armoured vehicles.
The funeral attack in Yemen’s capital Sana’a last October, in which 613 were also injured, was one of the worst to hit the country.
A 13-year-old badly burnt in the carnage has told the Mirror of the horror. The teenager, named only as Zuhair and now being helped by Save the Children, said: “I was collecting empty water bottles so that we can sell them to buy rice, sugar, flour and potatoes.
“That’s when the first missile hit the first gate, the second missile hit the second gate and the third missile hit the centre of the hall.
“I saw people scattered on the floor. They were dead. I saw only half bodies.
“I saw many people lying on the floor dead, half of them were burnt.
“My uncle carried me. I was burnt- my face, hands and my feet were very burnt.
“My clothes were burnt, my hands, my legs and my face. I was completely burnt.
“I was screaming ‘uncle Saleh - uncle Saleh. Take me to my mum. We took a taxi to where my mum was and I said: ‘mum. mum - a missile will hit, a missile, a missile.”
Zuhair’s mother Fowza recalled: “I rushed out and carried Zuhair. My husband was able to walk but only slowly with extreme difficulty.
“His feet and face were swollen. Some people arrived and told me not to worry, saying the burns are only on the outer skin.
“We put creams on it. We put on tomato paste and my child was screaming and crying . It was like he was going to die.
“At hospital they told me his burns were so swollen and water was coming out of them.
“He has changed so much after the incident.
“His personality has changed so much. He screams while he is sleeping. He screams so much and says: “Mum the missile will hit. Mum the missile will hit. Look after my sister. Mum hold me.”
Arms sales can only legally proceed if Britain can guarantee they will not be involved in human rights abuses.
Saudi Arabia is trying to attack the Houthi militia and forces loyal to the former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh – but many innocent men, women and children are being killed or wounded in the campaign.
Save the Children boss Kevin Watkins said: “There have been clear violations of international law by all parties in this conflict, but the fact remains that Saudi Arabia is a British ally and the Saudi-led coalition is killing children.
“We should be proud of the difference UK aid is making in Yemen – it is keeping children alive. But at the same time Britain is licensing the sale of military equipment to a country that is acting in defiance of international humanitarian law.
“The UK should not be supporting through arms sales a country that is killing children, and bombing schools and health centres.
"We must put a stop to these double standards and halt all arms exports to Saudi Arabia until those responsible for horrific acts of violence against children are held to account. The UK must put the defence of children before the commercial interests of arms exporters.”
Britain has licensed over £3billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia - and Saudi bombs were responsible for the attack on the Yemeni capital last October that left 613 injured
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/dont-sell-british-arms-child-9764743
Horrific details of how Saudi bombs killed 114 mourners at a funeral have emerged on the eve of a legal bid to end Britain’s arms trade with the brutal regime.
Britain has licensed over £3.3billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since bombing began in Yemen in March 2015
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade will launch a High Court bid this week to stop the sale of British arms to Saudi Arabia, which includes £2.2billion worth of aircraft, £1.1billion of grenades, bombs and missiles and £430,000 of armoured vehicles.
The funeral attack in Yemen’s capital Sana’a last October, in which 613 were also injured, was one of the worst to hit the country.
A 13-year-old badly burnt in the carnage has told the Mirror of the horror. The teenager, named only as Zuhair and now being helped by Save the Children, said: “I was collecting empty water bottles so that we can sell them to buy rice, sugar, flour and potatoes.
“That’s when the first missile hit the first gate, the second missile hit the second gate and the third missile hit the centre of the hall.
“I saw people scattered on the floor. They were dead. I saw only half bodies.
“I saw many people lying on the floor dead, half of them were burnt.
“My uncle carried me. I was burnt- my face, hands and my feet were very burnt.
“My clothes were burnt, my hands, my legs and my face. I was completely burnt.
“I was screaming ‘uncle Saleh - uncle Saleh. Take me to my mum. We took a taxi to where my mum was and I said: ‘mum. mum - a missile will hit, a missile, a missile.”
Zuhair’s mother Fowza recalled: “I rushed out and carried Zuhair. My husband was able to walk but only slowly with extreme difficulty.
“His feet and face were swollen. Some people arrived and told me not to worry, saying the burns are only on the outer skin.
“We put creams on it. We put on tomato paste and my child was screaming and crying . It was like he was going to die.
“At hospital they told me his burns were so swollen and water was coming out of them.
“He has changed so much after the incident.
“His personality has changed so much. He screams while he is sleeping. He screams so much and says: “Mum the missile will hit. Mum the missile will hit. Look after my sister. Mum hold me.”
Arms sales can only legally proceed if Britain can guarantee they will not be involved in human rights abuses.
Saudi Arabia is trying to attack the Houthi militia and forces loyal to the former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh – but many innocent men, women and children are being killed or wounded in the campaign.
Save the Children boss Kevin Watkins said: “There have been clear violations of international law by all parties in this conflict, but the fact remains that Saudi Arabia is a British ally and the Saudi-led coalition is killing children.
“We should be proud of the difference UK aid is making in Yemen – it is keeping children alive. But at the same time Britain is licensing the sale of military equipment to a country that is acting in defiance of international humanitarian law.
“The UK should not be supporting through arms sales a country that is killing children, and bombing schools and health centres.
"We must put a stop to these double standards and halt all arms exports to Saudi Arabia until those responsible for horrific acts of violence against children are held to account. The UK must put the defence of children before the commercial interests of arms exporters.”
