MIDDLE East Minister Tobias Ellwood, above, warned against judging the conflict in Yemen while relying on “hearsay”. A UN report claims to have uncovered 119 sorties over Yemen that violated international law, raising fresh questions about the UK’s £1 billion arms trade with Saudi Arabia, which is leading the bombings. Yesterday, Ellwood urged caution over the report, stating it had not been written by observers on the ground. However, Ellwood’s government refuses to visit the war-torn nation, closing its embassy and refusing to help any UK citizens left there. But although his own department’s policy regarding Yemen is based on reports by third parties, Ellwood told MPs yesterday: “The actual people that wrote this report didn’t visit Yemen, they didn’t actually go there. They are basing this on satellite technology. “That does not mean to say that we dismiss it at all, we take it very seriously, and I commit myself to [sitting] down with the Saudi Arabians to make sure we go through this with a fine toothcomb. But [can] I just make it clear we must do this in a way that is based on evidence.” The MP said Houthi forces now running large swathes of the country are using artillery to hit civilian areas and make attacks look like they were committed by their Saudi enemies, adding: “We need to see evidence, we need to see the details in order for us to make firm judgments rather than just on hearsay or indeed photographs.” Ellwood insisted UK arms sales are consistent with EU rules, which forbid the sale of weapons where there is a likelihood of violations of international humanitarian law. SNP defence spokesman Brendan O’Hara called the report “deeply, deeply worrying”.
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