US, Britain’s Role in Sabotage Acts in Yemen Revealed by Spies in Court

Yemen’s Saba’a news agency reported on Tuesday that in the second session of the court to try the spies, evidence was presented by the prosecutor on the US and Britain’s direct role in operations to recruit, train and send spies to conduct sabotage acts in Yemen.

During the hearing, recorded confessions of the accused was displayed to the court where they admitted to recruiting, training, spying and carrying out sabotage operations on Yemeni's soil under the supervision of the British intelligence chief at the al-Qeiza airbase in al-Mahra province.

According to the report, the recording is due to be aired on TV later on Tuesday.

Oxfam has accused the British government of prolonging the war in Yemen by allowing the export of air-to-air refuelling equipment that it fears could be used to help the Saudi air force conduct indiscriminate bombing in the country.

The technology was licensed to Riyadh last summer when arms restrictions were lifted, alongside £1.4bln of other sales, and can be used to help warplanes fly longer missions at a time when the conflict is intensifying.

Sam Nadel, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam, said, “As the US has called for an end to the conflict in Yemen, the UK is heading in the opposite direction, ramping up its support for the brutal Saudi-led war by increasing arms sales and refuelling equipment that facilitate airstrikes.”

“The UK claims to support peace in Yemen. It can start by immediately ending the sale of all arms that risk being used against civilians and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis,” Nadel added.