“Britain’s humanitarian and foreign policy are pursuing different ends”

Half of the warplanes used in the Saudi airstrikes in Yemen are British-made —Reports

“Britain’s humanitarian and foreign policy are pursuing different ends. The Yemenis are being pulverized by the Saudis while we try to get aid in through ports which are being blockaded and while British ordnance is being dropped there,”  Andrew Mitchell, the former UK Conservative (Tory) Party whip and ex-Secretary of State for International Development, told The Telegraph.

UK Government’s support for Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen has destroyed more than a decade’s worth of British aid spending in the country, senior politicians have warned.

More than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen, about half of them civilians, at least 27,000 others wounded since March this year, according to the U.N.

• Britain ‘fueling war in Yemen’ through arms sales, says Oxfam

Saudi Airstrikes on Schools and Hospitals

“An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a relief warehouse run by Oxfam, while the Save the Children has had two of its bases destroyed. Both charities’ aid efforts in Yemen are funded in part by DFID. Clinics operated by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres have also been destroyed,” said a report.

In a recent report, Amnesty International has cited five air strikes on schools in Yemen between August and October this year, which killed five civilians and wounded at least 14 others, including four children.

Saudi-led air strikes in Hajjah and Qabatiya provinces killed at least 19 civilians in bombings of homes and a market on Sunday, villagers said.

The collapse of Yemen’s health system

The breakdown of Yemen’s health system has left more than 14 million people without the basics like antibiotics and vaccines, and risk dying from preventable diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria, said the UN. Additionally,

• 21.2 million, or 82% of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance.
• 14.4 million are food insecure (including 7.6 million severely food insecure).
• 3 million people now require treatment or preventive services for malnutrition.
• 2 million are currently acutely malnourished, including 1.3 million children – 320,000 of whom are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Half of the warplanes used in the Saudi airstrikes are British-made Tornadoes and Eurofighters, say reports.

“There is a clear risk that the [UK] Government is complicit in indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas,” said Tim Cross, a retired British Major General.

Related Links

• Saudi state terrorism leaves 21.2 million Yemenis—82% of population—in need of humanitarian assistance