The German government allowed the export of certain military equipment and technology to countries directly involved in the war in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to reports from German media. The approval was given by the country's National Security Council, a secret security council consisting of Chancellor Angela Merkel and her chief ministers.
The report reveals that German-made military products will not be sent directly to Saudi Arabia. Components, made by German vehicle manufacturer Kamag, will be supplied to a French company, which, in turn, exports its products to Saudi Arabia. Some components and software updates for the Cobra radar systems, which are manufactured by France and Germany, were also approved to be partially exported to the UAE.
The move came two weeks after the German government extended a ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia by six months until the end of September but is making a conditional exception for systems developed jointly with other countries.
Germany imposed the ban following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last year. Britain and France have criticized Germany's stance, saying the ban prevented them from selling jointly developed equipment with German components to the Gulf nation. The ban's future had been hotly disputed in the governing coalition, with the center-left Social Democrats pushing to hold a very restrictive line, while Chancellor Merkel's conservative bloc was keen at least to mollify Germany's European partners.
The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been using weapons produced in Europe and the U.S. to kill and wound hundreds of civilians in Yemen, according to a report released by a Yemen-based human rights group last month. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, previously the former Saudi defense minister, and Saudi Arabia's allies launched Operation Decisive Storm in March 2015. The ongoing war has resulted in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with an estimated 24 million people, close to 80 percent of the population, in need of assistance and protection in Yemen, according to the U.N. The World Health Organization (WHO) says some 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition intervened in 2015, but rights groups state the death toll could be five times as high.