Elizabeth Warren slams US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE

Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren on Thursday slammed US arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Her comments came following a CNN investigation on Wednesday revealing that a shipment of military hardware from the US had arrived at the port of Aden in Yemen.

The Senator tweeted that it was clear that weapons made in the US were being deployed by government forces in Yemen.

She expressed her disdain of US-involvement in the arms-trade:

"Step 1: Saudis transfer U.S. military equipment to Yemen.

Step 2: UAE-backed separatist militia gets that equipment & uses it against Saudi-backed govt.

Step 3: Saudis keep transferring more U.S. military equipment to Yemen. What could go wrong?"

In a second tweet, Senator Warren said she wrote to the US government in October demanding that US involvement in the conflict should end:

"Last month, I wrote a letter to the @StateDept & @DeptofDefense asking whether continuing to sell our military hardware to the Saudis & Emiratis is a good idea. (Hint: it's not.)"

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These are not the first investigations into the involvement of US military resources in the war in Yemen, which the United Nations has labelled as one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes.

A previous investigation in October had already claimed that US weapons had been used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, CNN reported.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Col. Turki Al-Maliki, responded to the accusations in the investigation published Wednesday: "the information that the military equipment will be delivered to a third party is unfounded."

A Pentagon spokesperson issued a statement saying: "We cannot comment on any potential or ongoing investigations of claims of end-use violations of defense articles and services transferred to our allies and partners."

CNN also reported that the Pentagon had declared it was also investigating American corroboration with regards to sales of arms in the war in Yemen.

This investigation comes as Yemen's exiled government signed a Saudi-brokered power-sharing deal with southern separatists on Tuesday, aimed at ending the conflict. 

The deal will reportedly see the UAE-backed secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) handed several ministries, and the government return to the southern city of Aden, according to officials and reports in Saudi media.

"This agreement will open a new period of stability in Yemen. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands with you," Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at a signing ceremony in Riyadh aired on state television.

Many are waiting for all parties involved in the conflict to rally for peace, as the blood-shed has escalated drastically since the Saudi campaign started in 2014.

Senator Elizabeth Warren was part of an attempt by the US House of Representatives and Senate to pass legislation that would criminalise arms sales to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, but President Donald Trump used his veto powers to halt the efforts in April.

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