The Yemeni Blood Toll

Scottish National Party MP Angus Robertson in Parliament during PM’s Question Time said civilians were being killed by the Royal Saud Air Force “who have done that using British-built planes with pilots who are trained by British instructors, and who are dropping British-made bombs and are coordinated by the Saudis in the presence of British military advisers. Is it not time for the prime minister to admit that Britain is effectively taking part in a war in Yemen that is costing thousands of civilian lives, and that he has not sought parliamentary approval to do that?”

The UK ally was also accused by the United Nations special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura of deliberately undermining ongoing efforts for reaching a political solution in Syria.

In a confidential briefing to the 15-nation UN Security Council meeting on January 18, de Mistura accused Saudi Arabia of complicating his efforts on Syria by trying to tightly control which opposition groups are allowed to participate in the international negotiations to resolve the deadly crisis in the country. The UN diplomat also said that the Saudi-backed opposition groups in Syria and their “sponsors” have time and again rebuffed his personal appeals to allow other groups being represented in the talks on Syria.

Another ally of the UK has been accused of using Latin American mercenaries in the Yemen war. 450 military personnel from the European and Latin American countries, but mainly from Colombia, have been recruited to fight for the Saudis in Yemen. Reports emerged in late December 2015 that six Colombian troops and an Australian commander had been killed in clashes. The Colombians have been dispatched to Yemen under an agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the  US-based security services company formerly called Blackwater.