Britain is “exporting fear” to children trapped in Yemen’s civil war as it continues to supply billions of pounds worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, Save the Children has warned.
The UK has earned at least £3.2 billion (US$4.24 billion) from selling missiles and equipment to the Saudi-led coalition during the ongoing war in Yemen, RT reported.
British arms are believed to have been used in bombing schools and vital infrastructure, impeding aid access and fomenting a cholera epidemic. Some 10,000 people have died and 40,000 have been wounded during the conflict, according to UN figures.
Meanwhile, Britain continues to send humanitarian aid. In 2017, it sent £155 million to the war-torn country.
Save the Children’s chief executive, Kevin Watkins, says the UK is “leading the world by providing aid to Yemen,” but at the same time “providing weapons and support to countries in a conflict that is killing, maiming and starving children.”
“The UK should stand tall in the world and export hope to Yemen’s children, not fear,” he said at the launch of the charity’s report ‘Next Generation Aid’, which sets out how Britain’s aid budget can better be delivered for children.
The House Urged to End US Role
US Rep. Ro Khanna issued a press release on the resolution that he is co-sponsoring with three other House members that would end US involvement in the war on Yemen, The American Conservative reported.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Walter Jones (R-NC) have introduced a bipartisan resolution that seeks to stop US military participation in Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis in Yemen. This is an entirely separate war from the fight against Al Qaeda, yet Congress has never authorized it. By invoking the War Powers resolution, these members want a congressional vote to officially withdraw US forces from this unauthorized conflict.
At the very least, the resolution will force members in the House to debate what the US has been helping the Saudi-led coalition do to Yemen, and it will put them all on record regarding their willingness to enable an atrocious war against a country whose people have done nothing to the United States.
If the resolution passes, that would bring greater attention to the disgraceful policy that the Obama and Trump administrations have been conducting. It is an important first step in reasserting congress’ role in matters of war and in trying to end US involvement in a shameful war.
