Norway sold “bombs and grenades” to the Emirates for NOK 23 million in October

Houthi Shiite fighters gather outside the residence of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. Saleh was killed by Shiite rebels, Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, as their forces battled for control of the capital, Sanaa, officials said. The collapse of their alliance throws Yemen's nearly 3-year-old civil war into unpredictable new chaos. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

In October, Norway exported weapons in a category containing deadly explosives worth a total of NOK 23 million to the Emirates.

 

United Arab Emirates is one of several countries participating in the brutal Yemen war and has been accused of serious war crimes. In recent years, Norway has exported war material for hundreds of millions to the countries participating in the conflict.

According to VG, figures from Statistics Norway show that Norway in October this year sold material in a category containing deadly explosives to the Emirates.

The total value of this export was NOK 23 million, and according to the newspaper, Norway has not sold material in this category since January 2016.

The category is defined as “bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, rockets and similar war material, as well as parts thereof”.

SV’s Petter Eide has previously stated that Norway must stop selling arms, ammunition and other defense materials to the Saudi coalition countries that are fighting in Yemen.

“We believe this export violates the intentions of Norwegian legislation, which states that we will not export weapons to countries at war,” he told NTB at the end of October.

Last year, the Emirates bought weapons and weapon components for 79 million from Norway, ammunition for 21.5 million and electronic equipment for 734,000 kroner.

Norwegian exports of weapons, ammunition and other defense materials increased by 10 per cent last year. In total, it was  traded for 3.6 billion kroner in 2016.

NTB Scanpix / Norway Today

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