Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen

Cluster bombs manufactured in the UK in 1980s had been used by the Saudi-led coalition in the on-going civil war in Yemen

20 December 2016, 10:06am

1 min read

Smoke rises during an airstrike on an army weapons depot on a mountain overlooking Yemen's capital, Sanaa, 20 April, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

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Saudi Arabia has admitted that it used UK-manufactured cluster bombs against Houthi rebels in Yemen, increasing pressure on the British government which has repeatedly refused to curb arms sales to Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia said it would cease to use UK-manufactured cluster bombs and that it had informed the UK government of this decision.

Ahmed Asiri, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said: “It has become apparent that there was limited use by the coalition of the UK-manufactured BL755 cluster ammunition in Yemen.”

The decision to stop using the cluster bombs follows an internal Saudi investigation conducted in discussion with the UK. Saudi officials said it had only been completed last week.

The admission came in advance of a statement by Britain’s defence secretary, Michael Fallon, who admitted that UK-supplied cluster bombs had been used by Saudi Arabian-led forces. Fallon told the House of Commons that a “limited number” of BL755 cluster munitions exported from the UK in the 1980s had been dropped by the Arab coalition.