Last year, the German government approved arms exports worth more than one billion euros to countries involved in the conflicts in Yemen or Libya.
According to dpa, a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics to a question from Bundestag member Omid Nouripour shows that exports of weapons and military equipment worth 1.16 billion euros were approved in 2020 for countries involved in the Yemen war and parties to the conflict in Libya.
In March 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel first announced a halt to all arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia. However, the embargo did not come into full effect. Following the violent death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the German government decided in November 2018 not to allow any further arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
On December 10, 2020, Germany extended the arms export ban on Saudi Arabia for another year until the end of December 2020.
Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Egypt and Kuwait, formed an Arab war coalition in March 2014 and launched their aggression against Yemen. However, over the past five years, the Saudis’ allies have withdrawn from the coalition.
During these years, tens of thousands of Yemenis, mostly women and children, have died in airstrikes by Saudi warplanes.
by Xavier Cuesta – European Correspondent – dpa