Yemen

Experts from the United Nations has identified fragments of laser-guided missile systems used by the Saudi military in Yemen that they concluded could break international law. The fragments were from a guidance unit stamped with the name "EDO MBM Technology ltd", a company based in Brighton.

Civil society organisations in Canada have written to the country’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, demanding an update on a review into a huge sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

French NGO “Disclose” has released details of the use of French weapons by the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen, using leaked documents.

The Spanish government has decided to go ahead with the delivery of 400 laser guided missiles to Saudi Arabia, worth more than $10m, a few weeks after saying they would cancel the order.

Journalists in Yemen and the USA have collected evidence that the missile used by the Saudi-led coalition forces to bomb a civilian bus Yemen, killing dozens of children and injuring many more, was as a 500-pound GBU-12 MK 82 laser guided missile, built by Lockheed Martin.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have been granted permission to continue to pursue it's legal case against the British government regarding arms sales to Saudi Arabia. On 4th May two Court of Appeal judges granted CAAT permission to appeal, and the case will be heard by the Court of Appeal in the months ahead.

A coalition of human rights organisations from Germany, Italy and Yemen have begun a legal action against a European arms manufacturer and officials in Italy.

For the past few years, the Finnish arms trade has been changing. Data compiled by the peace and security think-tank SaferGlobe shows that the largest export region used to be the European Union, since 2015 the top position has been taken by Middle Eastern countries.

Across Europe, activists have been resisting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, destined to be used the ongoing war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign has seen many thousands of civilians killed.

A day in the life of Hakim Najm in Yemen. His blog sheds light on what it's like to live with the regular threat of air strikes and in a city blockaded from the outside world, experiencing shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, and all the time trying to tell the outside world of the situation. Stronger international solidarity is needed for this country that has now experienced 1000 days of war.

In the month of January, people around the world celebrate the beginning of a new year, a new chapter in their lives. They are thinking of what they are going to achieve and accomplish and how they are going to spend their year. On the other side of the world—being completely forgotten—are the people of Yemen. It’s a new year they want to be optimistic but can’t help feeling worried. For them it is another year of living in fear, hunger and a dark unknown future.

From 11 to 15 September, Geneva will be hosting the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty. The world’s third largest purveyor of armaments, France has a privileged relationship in this area with Saudi Arabia and its allies. According to hitherto undisclosed data revealed to Orient XXI by the Observatoire des Armements, the French government used a contract for weapons ostensibly meant for Lebanon to prepare for the Kingdom’s war in Yemen and speed up delivery at the height of that conflict.