US approves $1b weapons sale to S Arabia

WASHINGTON: The United States has formally approved weapons sales to Saudi Arabia totaling more than $1 billion, despite growing pressure from rights groups to halt arms deals with Riyadh.

The US State Department confirmed on Friday it had authorised a $670 million deal for anti-tank missiles, a $106 million contract for helicopter maintenance and $300 million for ground vehicle parts, Geo News reported.

A US official said the deals were in the planning process since President Donald Trump announced more than $100 billion in potential new arms contracts on a visit to Riyadh last year. "This proposed sale will support US foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country," the US Defence Department said in a statement.

In theory, the US Congress could still block the latest deal, but on Tuesday the Senate voted down a bill to halt US support for the Saudi-led military coalition against Yemen.

Amnesty International slammed the United States, Britain and other Western countries on Friday for their continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as their forces wage a brutal war in Yemen. The UK-based rights group said the arms sales have been an "enormous harm to Yemeni civilians" over the course of the war.

"Three years on, Yemen's conflict shows no real signs of abating, and all sides continue to inflict horrific suffering on the civilian population," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty's Middle East research director.

"But this has not deterred the USA, the UK and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars' worth of such arms," Maalouf added. "As well as devastating civilian lives, this makes a mockery of the global Arms Trade Treaty."

The US, along with the UK, has been the main arms provider to Saudi Arabia during the military campaign The US has also provided intelligence and logistical support.