News - Middle East: Italy has lifted an embargo on arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the Rome government said in a statement on Monday.

In January 2021, Italy withdrew permissions to export missiles and bombs to Saudi Arabia and the UAE due to the participation of these two countries in the aggression against Yemen, pursuant to a 1990 law that prohibits the export of weapons to countries engaged in armed conflicts.

Weapons supplied by the US, West through sales unlawfully, allowed Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pursue an indiscriminate and brutal bombing campaign against Yemen.

They support some of the most barbaric and repressive regimes on the planet. Their continued supply of arms to the Saudi-led coalition of aggression against Yemen explodes its claims to promote human rights and democracy on the international arena.

Many protests have been organized since the beginning of the aggression in the US, London and other western cities over the Government's sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and its other regional allies, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015. The seven years and half of war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. Yemeni people are facing malnutrition, hunger, and famine, which have increased risks of disease and starvation.