Weapons exported by UK 'fall into Daesh hands'

A new report has revealed that Daesh (ISIL) terrorists may be using weapons exported to the Middle East by the UK.

According to a research study by human rights organization Amnesty International, assault weapons and small arms sent from Britain to Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion may have ended up in the hands of ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

Analyzing thousands of videos and images, the report has concluded that Daesh terrorists have obtained a “substantial arsenal” of arms and ammunition.

 The weapons have been made in more than 25 countries.

US military issue M16 rifles, Austrian and Russian sniper rifles and Chinese and Belgian machine guns are also among the weapons being used by the terrorists.

The report says the majority of the weapons acquired by the Takfiri terrorists have been given to Iraqi security forces by different Western countries between 2003 and 2007.

“Decades of free-flowing arms into Iraq meant that when IS (Daesh) took control of these areas, they were like children in a sweetshop. The fact that countries including the UK have ended up inadvertently arming IS should give us pause over current weapons deals,” the Independent quoted Oliver Sprague, Amnesty UK’s arms programme director as saying on Tuesday.

“Risks need to be far more carefully calculated, and we shouldn’t wait for this worst case scenario to happen before acting to prevent sales of arms which could fuel atrocities,” he added.

Now, some critics say that the UK should stop arms deals with the Persian Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia.

They argue that the arms could get into the hands of Daesh terrorists at the end of the day.

Using weapons against innocents

A London-based political commentator says Saudi Arabia has already been using weapons supplied by the UK in the invasion of Yemen.

“In regards with Yemen, British arms were playing central role in the conflict and we also know that children have been targeted by phosphorous bomb by the Saudis,” Clive Hambidge told Press TV on Tuesday.

UK is Saudi Arabia’s largest arms supplier, “responsible for 36% of all Saudi arms imports,” the report said.

Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, UK has licensed nearly four billion pounds of arms sales to Riyadh and some 240 military staff and civil servants from the UK Ministry of Defense work both in UK and the kingdom to support the contracts. The latest of military contracts includes delivery of 22 British Hawk jets which is worth £1.6 billion.

Moreover, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government department working with UK-based businesses to assist their success in international markets, has played a major role in encouraging those companies that sell security equipment to target Saudi Arabia for selling their products.

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