Nations halt arms sales

Denmark and Finland have announced that they will halt future arms exports to Saudi Arabia, following a similar decision by neighbouring Germany this month.

Denmark’s ban includes goods that can be used both for military and civilian purposes but is still less expansive than the German measures, which include sales that had already been approved.

While the Nordic countries are tiny arms equipment exporters in comparison with bigger players such as the United States, Britain or France, their decision will probably exacerbate concerns within the European arms industry of a growing anti-Saudi consensus in the European Union and beyond.

Apart from the killing of

Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October, a Saudi-led coalition has been accused of numerous human rights violations in Yemen since 2015. On Thursday, humanitarian organisation Save the Children said that 85,000 children had starved to death there since the beginning of the intervention.

Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen urged other EU members to re-evaluate their stances towards Saudi Arabia.

Finland also stopped arms equipment exports to the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.