Though
the United States and the United Kingdom receive the most widespread
criticism for supplying weapons to the Saudi government, which has
been condemned for causing thousands of civilian deaths in Yemen,
other Western governments are also complicit.
In 2015,
the Spanish government sold the Kingdom 400 bombs in exchange for
$10.6 million and in April, signed a much larger, nearly two billion
dollar deal for warships.
This
week, the country’ defense ministry announced it was canceling the
2015 deal and returning the funds it had already received.
The
Independent reported Wednesday that last month, Spain’s defense
ministry said “it had never sold arms that could be used against
a civilian population, while condemning the killing of non-combatants
in Yemen.”
It also
said it was reviewing sales that had not yet been closed and “could
be involved in attacks on civilians.”
However,
the Spanish government does not appear to be rescinding this year’s
warship contract. The country is the fourth largest provider of arms
to the Kingdom, trailing behind the United States, the U.K., and
France.
Though
the cancellation of the $10 million arms deal is small in comparison
to the total amount of weapons sold to the Saudis, it represents a
small show of dissent against the Saudis’ numerous war crimes —
including targeting hospitals and children — which have received
resounding condemnation from human rights groups around the world.
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