EU Parliament Considering Arms Embargo on Saudi Arabia

The European Parliament is expected to submit a resolution to the European Union requesting to impose an embargo on exporting arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns that Riyadh might have delivered the imported weaponry to terrorists in Syria and might have used it in the Yemen conflict, a source in the EP told Sputnik on Tuesday.

“Voting on the non-binding resolution featuring this call [to impose arms embargo on Riyadh] will be held on Wednesday at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg,” the source said.

The source added that the EP had suspicions that the weapons exported to Saudi Arabia might have been transferred to terrorist groups fighting in Syria, and also might have been used by Riyadh in its operations in Yemen.

A diplomatic source in Brussels told Sputnik that the EU member states had not yet reached a consensus on the issue of implementing an embargo on delivering arms to the oil kingdom.

In February 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia due to its operation in Yemen, passing by 359 to 212 votes.

Non-governmental organizations across Europe echoed the call for imposing restrictions on trading arms on Riyadh. The NGOs insist that European nations, such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Belgium, breach their national laws which ban arms exports to the countries waging a war or violating human rights.

The conflict in Yemen began in the autumn of 2014 when the Houthis took control of the capital city Sanaa, sending President Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi into exile. In March 2015, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began an air campaign against the rebels on Hadi’s request. The United Nations estimates 13,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, mostly by Saudi airstrikes.