UAE ’Supplying Yemeni Militias Accused of War Crimes with Western-Supplied Arms:Amnesty

Amnesty International accused the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday of diverting arms supplied by Western and other states to “unaccountable militias accused of war crimes” in Yemen, Reuters reported.

In a press release, Amnesty said the investigation “has highlighted how the UAE is arming out-of-control militias operating in Yemen with a range of advanced weaponry – much of it sourced from Western countries, including the UK.”

“The proliferation of these fighting forces is a recipe for disaster for Yemeni civilians who have already been killed in their thousands, while millions more are on the brink of famine as a direct result of the war,” the human rights group said.

The statement added that the militants were being armed despite their “atrocious human rights records,” their being unaccountable to any government and the accusations of war crimes and other serious violations facing them.

The UAE government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Amnesty statement.

“Meanwhile, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the Netherlands have announced suspensions in arms transfers to the UAE,” it said.

Western countries have supplied the UAE with at least $3.5 billion worth of arms since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and the Emirates and a coalition of their other allies, invaded the impoverished country to reinstall its Riyadh-allied former government.

The Amnesty said while knowing about the share of the violations attributed to the UAE, the US, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey were still selling weapons to Abu Dhabi.

Amnesty called on states to suspend arms sales to the warring parties until there is “no longer a substantial risk” they may be used to breach humanitarian or human rights law.

Amnesty’s report comes on the heels of an on-the-ground CNN investigation, published Monday, which revealed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — its main partner in the war — have transferred American-made weapons to al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other groups, in violation of their agreements with the United States. These elements have recently emerged in Hodeidah under the guise of the Giants.

During his maiden state visit, US President Donald Trump went to Saudi Arabia where he signed a massive $110 billion arms deal with the oil-rich kingdom. According to the Department of Defense, the monarchy is breaking the terms of its arms deal with Washington.

The Monday report further suggested that the American president “has lost control over” the royal family, questioning whether it is “responsible enough to be allowed to continue buying the sophisticated arms and fighting hardware”.

The disclosed news on Saudi Arabia and the UAE delivering American arms and weaponry to al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorists is an intelligence ignominy for Washington, President of Yemen’s Revolutionary Committee Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said.

A statement like this exposes the difficult situation the US leadership is facing, in explaining its position on the Saudi war against Yemen, after the CNN report. Al-Houthi explained that “the U.S. is easing the shock,” the American voter will suffer, after the growing rejection of the U.S. involvement in the war against Yemen. Votel is fighting against the CNN report and other reports of more violations by the U.S. to not “improve the chances for the Congress’s draft against the continuation of the coalition against Yemen.” He asked not to forget that this statement can be considered as “an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for legal, humanitarian and moral violations in Yemen.”