UK complicit in ‘promoting famine’ in Yemen, says ex-minister

A former British Tory minister accused the UK government of being “dangerously complicit”’ in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen yesterday, the Guardian reported.

Andrew Mitchell, former international development secretary, said the UK government is “directly promoting a famine and the collective punishment of an entire population”.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of Arab states in Yemen since March 2015, after the internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi requested military assistance to neutralise threats form the Iranian-backed Houthi group.

Mitchell, who visited war-torn Yemen, claims that the UK, alongside the US, is supporting a Saudi policy on Yemen which is violating international law.

The comment comes as UN humanitarian agencies in Yemen plead with Saudi Arabia to allow aid to enter through the Hudaydah port to prevent the suffering of thousands of civilians.

Saudi Arabia shut all of Yemen’s ports after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile towards Riyadh. Saudi accuses Iran of supplying these missiles to Yemen, a charge Tehran denies.

The British Red Cross warned this week that some 2.5 million Yemenis are without access to clean water. While NGO Save the Children has warned that the worsening humanitarian crisis could lead to the death of some 50,000 Yemenis by the end of the year.

In July, the UK High Court ruled that it is lawful for the government to supply and sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia in spite of the fact that Saudi has been accused of using the weapons to commit war crimes in impoverished Yemen.

Yemen FM: ‘Iranian regime has pushed too far through its proxy, the Houthis’