US arms sale to Saudi to prolong war on Yemen: Activist

Press TV has interviewed Hussein al-Bukhaiti, an activist and political commentator in Sana’a, about Human Rights Watch criticizing the US for selling cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Human Rights Watch claims that the US is just as responsible as Saudi Arabia when it comes to the use of these cluster munitions against civilians in Yemen. Do you see it that way too?

Bukhaiti: Yes of course. From the beginning of this war and I think five to six months ago US has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia more cluster weapons that will cost about 300 to 400 million dollars.

So this shows you as long as the United States has not signed the agreement to ban the use of cluster weapons, of course it will continue selling it to the Saudis and it will not be affected by any of these human rights reports because this is I think the fourth or the fifth report from human rights and as well there are many or several reports from Amnesty International and other agencies but still I think that this war is going to continue because if the United States will not accept the fact that there are civilians killed using their weapons, I do not think that this war will end soon.

Press TV: When we speak of ending of this war, how far do you think Saudi Arabia is willing to go as far as its military campaign against Yemen is concerned? Many have said that month after month now that were passed the one year mark Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve any of its stated objectives?

Bukhaiti: I think the Saudis, they might go for months and for years because we know that the Saudi direct involvement in Yemen is by their fighter jets but actually because they have lots of money and the oil money, they are recruiting mercenaries either from Yemen or from outside Yemen to conduct their war on their behalf and I think that these talks in Kuwait are going to fail soon and I am sure that Yemen delegates will come in the coming days because there is nothing coming out of it and we have seen that on the field the Saudis continue their air campaign on rural areas, they do avoid for example like the capital city because of all UN personnel who are in Sana’a, but still across Yemen there are attacks and there are huge build-ups of Saudi-backed forces in Ma’rib and in al-Jawf and as well in Beihan and in Ta’izz.

This shows you that they are using these Kuwait talks just as a cover for their new operation and I am sure that the Saudis now have as well a new plan for Yemen. We know that they have an agreement with al-Qaeda to move from al-Mukalla and from Hadhramaut, all these al-Qaeda fighters in their hundreds and some will say they might be in their thousands are gathered in Abyan and the Saudis now start to send them to al-Bayda, al-Jawf and Ma’rib and I think they are going to start the same method they are using just in Syria, just not direct involvement, but just by sending those terrorists and provide them with weapons and money to continue their war against Yemen.

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