Yemen war: UK expresses 'serious concern' after being criticised for arms sales during conflict

Yemenis dig graves for children who were killed when their bus was hit during an air strike
AFP/Getty Images
James Morris3 September 2018

The UK has expressed “serious concern” over deaths in the Yemen conflict in recent weeks.

The move came after the government faced criticism for selling arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in the Middle East state.

An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition killed dozens of people in Yemen last month and was branded an apparent war crime by Human Rights Watch.

At least 51 people, including 40 children, were killed and 79 others, including 56 children, were wounded in the air strike which hit a bus in a busy market.

Yemen Conflict - In pictures

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A UK government spokesman said on Sunday: "The Government expresses serious concern at the tragic loss of life in Yemen over the last month.

A Yemeni man holds a boy who was injured by the airstrike in Saada (Reuters)
REUTERS

"In the first two weeks of August alone, over 400 Yemenis lost their lives, including young children, and many more continue to face egregious violations of their basic human rights.”

The spokesman added: “The UK urges all parties to the conflict to do everything possible to protect innocent civilians and to demonstrate their commitment to international humanitarian law.”

Human Rights Watch said the attack which hit the bus adds to the coalition's "already gruesome track record of killing civilians at weddings, funerals, hospitals and schools in Yemen". It has urged countries to "immediately halt weapons sales" to Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's civil war has been raging since March 2015.

Reporting by Press Association.

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