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Rights groups warn France of becoming partner in war on Yemen

July 11, 2019 at 11:26 am

A Yemeni boy rides a bike on rubble of houses destroyed in a recent air strike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition on 23 May 2019 in Sana’a, Yemen [Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images]

A group of 19 human rights organisations have warned France against becoming a partner in the war on Yemen through its continued sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the New Khaleej reported yesterday.

The 19 organisations sent a letter to the French parliament calling on MPs to practice their monitoring role in relation to selling arms to the countries carrying out the war in Yemen.

“France could become a partner in the war on Yemen if it continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” the rights organisations wrote in their letter.

Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, Amnesty International and Peace in Yemen were among the organisations which signed the letter.

They said Saudi Arabia and the UAE are heading a military coalition which is responsible for “dangerous and systematic violations of international humanitarian law against civilians in Yemen.”

The war in Yemen has taken the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and the countries which sell weapons to the warring parties have to review their policies, they said.

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