US Sells Arms Worth over $1Bn to Saudi Arabia as Regime Continues Killing Yemenis

The US State Department approved the potential sale of more than 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armored recovery vehicles and other equipment, worth about $1.15 billion, to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said that General Dynamics will be the principal contractor for the sale, adding it would contribute to US national security by improving the security of a regional partner.

“This sale will increase the Royal Saudi Land Force’s (RSLF) interoperability with US forces and conveys US commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and armed forces modernization,” the agency said in a notice to lawmakers posted on its website.

Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare.

This is while Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a military campaign against Yemen for more than a year in support of Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president but seeks to forcefully grab power.

On Tuesday, the UN’s children fund, UNICEF, said the Saudi invasion had killed 1,121 children and wounded 1,650 others.

Earlier in the week, independent legal organizations said the Saudi war had, in the whole, claimed the lives of 9,722 people, including 2,260 children and 1,677 women.