Belgium arms company involved in Saudi-UAE war on Yemen, Amnesty reveals

A Belgian-made machine gun has been used in the Saudi-UAE war on Yemen and is expected to be showcased at the upcoming Abu Dhabi arms fair, Amnesty International have said.

According to promotional materials for the UAE’s IDEX2019 arms fair, the Minimi, manufactured in Belgium’s Wallonia region, will be among the thousands of weapons available for sale.

In recent years, the Belgian authorities have transferred an array of weapons to the Saudi/UAE-led coalition for the use of armed conflict in Yemen, according to Amnesty’s new report, published on Thursday.

Amnesty’s investigation also found that Belgian arms had also been used by ‘the Giants’, a Yemeni militia that is backed and supplied by the UAE but not accountable to any government.

“It’s a jarring sight to have FN Herstal hawking the Minimi in the UAE after we exposed how the Emiratis illicitly gave this weapon to an unaccountable militia in Yemen,” said Patrick Wilcken, Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International.