Saudi Jets Hit UK Aid Center in Yemen with British Bombs: Oxfam Pans London’s Double Standards

 Saudi-led coalition has repeatedly bombed Humanitarian aid projects funded by Oxfam in Yemen, the British charity said, criticizing UK government for continued support and arms sales to the oil-rich kingdom.

According to the Independent, warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition, which are supported by British intelligence, struck a vital cholera treatment centre in Abs, in the Hajjah province, in June despite the location being reported to the Saudi alliance more than 12 times.

In April, the Saudi  jets also struck a water supply system which impacted the livelihood of at least 6,000 people in a country that is suffering one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the 21st century.

Riyadh waged a war, assisted by the Arab allies, in early 2015 on neighboring Yemen. The aggression so far killed thousands, injured further, and yet displaced millions.

The campaign was launched with a Western, mainly American, green light after Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi resigned and fled the country to Saudi Arabia.

Saudis insist that they want to reinstate Hadi in power. But the ousted president is home-unrecognized and Ansarullah movement, leading the revolution, says Yemenis will never accept a foreign-foisted president in the country.

The revelations about the strikes on charity-funded facilities in Yemen emerged following this week’s parliamentary debates in the House of Commons, where British lawmakers were trying to evaluate the impact of UK arms sales to the Saudis. During the hearing on Tuesday, Oxfam’s Dina el-Mamoun revealed that UK aid to the war-torn country is being bombarded.

“On the one hand, British aid is a vital lifeline, on the other, British bombs are helping to fuel an ongoing war that is leading to countless lives being lost each week to fighting, disease and hunger,” Oxfam’s head of advocacy, Toni Pearce, told the Independent following the International Development Committee hearing.

Referring to London’s policy towards Yemen as “irresponsible and incoherent”, she noted that the UK’s ongoing arms sales to Riyadh are contributing to the destruction of scarce food supplies, hospitals and homes, as well as “aid programs funded by British taxpayers”.

The UK Government had been widely criticized for its continued support of Saudi Arabia and its arms supplies, which contributed to the destruction of vital infrastructure and mounting civilian casualties. And since Britain makes billions on these arms sales, over the last three years London has repeatedly dogged the pressure to cut arms deals to the Saudis.

At the same time, despite UK’s hand in exacerbating the crisis, the country has also spent more than £400mn in aid to the country throughout the course of the war. As a potential way out of the spotlight, Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday backed the American call for a “ceasefire” in Yemen, even though the record of the US supporting the Saudis, no matter what, undermines whatever peace initiative they may now try to promote.

According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) at least 56,000 people have lost their lives Saudi regime’s over three-year aggression on Yemeni nation. The aggression has also left around two-thirds of Yemen’s population of 27 million relying on aid amid the ongoing strict naval and aerial blockade of the country by the coalition.

The war has impacted over seven million children in Yemen who now face a serious threat of famine, according to UNICEF figures announced this week. Over 6,000 children have either been killed or sustained serious injuries since 2015, UN children’s agency said. The humanitarian situation in the country has also been exacerbated by outbreaks of cholera, polio, and measles.