UK police may probe Saudi war crimes: Report

The British daily The Guardian cited a Scotland Yard spokesman as saying that the Metropolitan police service (MPS) had received |a referral of an allegation of war crimes, made against Saudi Arabia committed in Yemen.”

“Following receipt of the referral, the MPS war crimes team began a scoping exercise and contacted those making the allegations,” the official added.

The exercise is being carried out to see if there should be a proper probe into the allegations, the paper said.

The revelation comes as British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to visit Saudi Arabia this week to underline the UK’s close relationship with the royal family.

Speaking in advance of the trip, May said she wanted to “herald a further intensification in relations between our countries and deepen true strategic partnerships”.

Saudi Arabia has been waging the war for more than two years now in support of Yemen’s former Riyadh-allied government. The campaign has killed about 12,000 Yemeni civilians. The kingdom has also imposed an all-out embargo on Yemen’s ports, pushing the country to the verge of a nationwide famine.