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The UK’s Labour Party has renewed calls for a ban on all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom’s military aggression against Yemen continues.

Fabian Hamilton, the shadow minister for peace, said Sunday that unlike the ruling Tory government, a Labour administration would only provide weapons to countries that use them for defensive purposes.

"We should not be selling weapons to any state that uses, or could potentially use, weapons we supply for internal repression or for foreign wars," Hamilton told the Middle East Eye, noting that the ban should include all the Saudi allies, who have been participating in the deadly war since it began in March 2015.

According to the United Nations, well over 10,000 people have been killed, the majority by the Saudi-led bombing campaign which has also destroyed vital infrastructure such as schools and hospitals and contributed to the cholera crisis. 3 million Yemenis have been displaced from their homes and 7 million are on the brink of dying from famine. UNICEF reports that a child is dying in Yemen every ten minutes from preventable causes including starvation and malnourishment.

When asked if Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn would push for UK arms embargoes against the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Egypt, Hamilton responded, "Absolutely."

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has called for the Government to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, arguing they are being used in Yemen's civil war.

"We are selling arms to Saudi Arabia… and at the same time we are sending aid in, we should not be doing both," he told the BBC's World at One programme.

The government of Prime Minister Theresa May has licensed £3.3 billions worth of arms such as aircraft, helicopters, drones, missiles, grenades, bombs and armoured vehicles to the Saudi regime and refused to suspend the supply of weaponry for use in Yemen in the face of the horrors perpetrated.

A report published by the Guardian this September reads: “UK arms manufacturers have exported almost £5bn worth of weapons to countries that are judged to have repressive regimes in the 22 months since the Conservative party won the last election.”

The Guardian also notes: “The Saudis have historically been a major buyer of British-made weapons, but the rise in sales to other countries signals a shift in emphasis on the part of the government, which is keen to support the defence industry, which employs more than 55,000 people.”

*(Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, the shadow minister for peace and the Middle East. Image credit: Russ Thomas/ Wikimedia)