BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:30 P.M.) – A British soldier of Yemeni descent is under investigation by the Royal Military Police for protesting the arms sales to Saudi Arabia and ongoing war in Yemen.
According to Declassified U.K., the British soldier, who was identified as Ahmed Al-Babti, said: “I’d rather sleep peacefully in a cell than stay silent for a paycheck.”
Babati was reportedly filmed outside the Ministry of Defense building in London on Monday before he was apprehended by the Royal Military Police.
Declassified U.K. said the Ministry of Defense has not commented on the matter.
However, the publication said Babati was filmed in his combat fatigues, saying that he was born in Yemen and joined the British Army in 2017.
“Yemen is facing the worst humanitarian crisis… due to years of war. This proxy war is led by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia are responsible for multiple airstrikes, killing innocents, targeting hospitals and breaking international law. Saudi Arabia are also responsible for blocking aid from going into the country,” Babati said.
“This has left 80% of the population in need of emergency aid. That’s 24 million people in need of emergency aid. Yet our government continues to arm and support Saudi Arabia. We tried to make our voices heard by protesting in London, Manchester, Liverpool and many other cities. We’ve even tried to email our MPs, but clearly our words mean nothing to Boris Johnson,” he continued.
“And it’s clear this government has blood on their hands, so with that being said I refuse to continue my military service until the arms trade with Saudi Arabia has been put to an end. It is reported that a child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen, so I’ll be standing outside 10 Downing Street blowing a whistle every 10 minutes so that they can hear every time a child dies due to a war they continue to arm and support,” he added.
Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and several other Arab states, have been actively intervening in Yemen, often carrying out airstrikes over several densely populated cities, including the capital, Sana’a, and historical areas inside the Sa’ada Governorate.
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.