David Cameron Defends Britain’s Alliance With Saudi Arabia

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British PM stands by Saudi regime and defends Yemen bombing campaign

David Cameron

David Cameron has defended Britain’s alliance with Saudi Arabia and British support for the controversial Saudi-led air-strike campaign in Yemen.

The British prime minister also dismissed concerns that funding for ISIS came from the Riyadh.

The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK slammed the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn last month for raising the allegations.

RT reports:

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Monday, the Prime Minister defended UK’s arms exports to the oil-rich autocracy and said that the UK carefully monitors how the Saudis use British-made weapons.

“Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is important for our own security. They are opponents of Daesh [Islamic State] and this extremist terrorism,” he said.

“In terms of our arms exports, I think we have some of the most stringent controls anywhere in the world and I’ll always make sure they’re properly operated.”

The UK has sold £5.6 billion in arms, fighter jets and other military hardware to Saudi Arabia since 2010, according to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).

Last week, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir revealed that British and American officials have access to lists of Yemeni targets and are present in the command and control centers where airstrikes are launched.

Since the war in Yemen broke out in March, nearly 3,000 civilians have been killed and 1 million have been displaced, according to UN figures. Rights groups have criticized the Saudi-led raids for civilian deaths, including hitting Medecins Sans Frontieres clinics and a school for the blind, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels had posted militia.

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