Norway suspends arms exports to UAE over Yemen war
Norway has suspended arms and ammunition exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of the nation’s involvement in the Yemen war, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced on 3 January.
The UAE is part of a Saudi Arabia-led coalition that has been fighting in Yemen since March 2015.
The conflict has killed more than 8,750 people, including many civilians, according to the World Health Organization.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said: ‘The development of the armed conflict in Yemen in the autumn of 2017 has been serious and there are severe concerns for the humanitarian situation.’
The suspension of arms exports, adopted on 19 December 2017, is a precautionary move and does not indicate that Norwegian weapons have been used in Yemen, the foreign ministry said.
Norwegian arms sales in the UAE had almost doubled in 2016 compared to the previous year, reaching $9.7 million.
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