WorldGENEVA, AFP -An arms watchdog on Monday urged major weapons exporters, including the United States and France, to cut sales to Saudi Arabia over its actions in Yemen, as a conference on global arms trade opened in Geneva. The World Trade Organization is hosting the second conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which came into force in 2014 laying out new rules governing the international arms market. By continuing to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has led a 17-month-long campaign against rebels in Yemen, major weapons exporters that signed the ATT are guilty of “the worst kind of hypocrisy,” said Anna Macdonald, director of the watchdog Control Arms. Saudi Arabia has faced fierce criticism over its Yemen offensive in support of the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The United States approved arms deals with Riyadh worth $5.9 billion in 2015, while for Britain the figure was $4.0 billion.

Source: Sunday Times August 22, 2016 10:52 UTC