MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has halted the sale of a shipment of bombs to Saudi Arabia amid concerns about their use in the conflict in Yemen, the Spanish Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have denounced Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies in a war which the United Nations says has killed more than 10,000 people and left 8.4 million on the brink of famine.

Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser reported the Defence Ministry had started a process to cancel a contract signed between Spain’s former government and the Gulf Arab state in 2015 to sell 400 laser-guided bombs.

The broadcaster said the bombs would have been used in Yemen, where U.N. human rights experts have said air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition have caused heavy civilian casualties and some may amount to war crimes.

“We confirm the news,” a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said, declining to give any further details. There was no immediate response from Saudi authorities.

Cadena Ser said the Socialist administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took over in Madrid in June after toppling his conservative predecessor, would pay back 9.2 million euros already paid for the material.

The ministry said last month it had never sold arms that could be used against a civilian population, condemned the killing of non-combatants in Yemen, and said it would review any possible sales that had not yet been closed and could be involved in attacks on civilians.

In April, Spain signed a framework agreement to sell warships to Saudi Arabia in a deal estimated to be worth around 1.8 billion euros.

The United States and Britain are amongst the main foreign arms suppliers to the Saudi-led coalition fighting to reinstate the internationally-recognized government that was ousted from the capital Sanaa by Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in 2015.</s>Spain is canceling the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia amid fears that the weapons could be used in the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain’s former conservative government, but the new center-left administration plans to return the €9.2 million (US$10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported on Tuesday. A defense ministry spokeswoman confirmed the report, but declined to elaborate, according to AP. Rights groups have criticized the coalition’s airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen for killing civilians. UN human rights experts say all sides may have committed war crimes.</s>Spain said Tuesday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Cadena Ser radio report that said Spain's new Socialist government planned to return the 9.2 million euros ($10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis for the arms under a deal signed by the previous conservative administration.

The spokesman declined to elaborate but the announcement comes after an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including 40 children.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and calls by the United Nations Security Council for a "credible and transparent" investigation.

The coalition had claimed to have targeted a bus carrying rebels.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after Shiite Huthi rebels linked to Iran ousted President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government from the capital Sanaa and seized swathes of the country.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then, 2,200 of them children, and sparked what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Amnesty International says Spain is one of biggest arms exporters to Saudi Arabia.

It and other rights groups, including Greenpeace and Oxfam, on Tuesday urged Spain to stop all arm sales to Saudi Arabia during a meeting with Spain's secretary of state for trade, Xiana Mendez.

The government did not make any commitment to limit other arms sales to Saudi Arabia during he meeting, Oxfam spokeswoman Lara Contreras told AFP.

While the 400 bombs which Spain will no longer send to Riyadh represent just "one percent of total arms sales to Saudi Arabia, it sends a clear message that it is important" to the Spanish government, she added.

Spain signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia in April to sell the Gulf Arab state five warships in a deal estimated to be worth around 1.8 billion euros.</s>MADRID: Spain said Tuesday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia. A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Cadena Ser radio report that said Spain’s new Socialist government planned to return the 9.2 million euros ($10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis for the arms under a deal signed by the previous conservative administration. The spokesman declined to elaborate but the announcement comes after an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including 40 children. The incident sparked a wave of international anger and calls by the United Nations Security Council for a “credible and transparent” investigation. Amnesty International says Spain is one of biggest arms exporters to Saudi Arabia. It and other rights groups, including Greenpeace and Oxfam, on Tuesday urged Spain to stop all arm sales to Saudi Arabia during a meeting with Spain’s secretary of state for trade, Xiana Mendez.</s>MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish Defence Ministry spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday a media report that Spain has halted the sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia amid concerns about their use in a conflict in Yemen.

Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser reported the Defence Ministry had started a process to cancel a contract signed between Spain and Saudi Arabia in 2015 to sell 400 laser-guided bombs, and would pay back 9.2 million euros already paid for the material.

The broadcaster added the bombs would have been used in Yemen.

“We confirm the news,” a spokeswoman for the ministry said, declining to give any further details.

Amnesty International and other campaigners have denounced Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies in a deadly conflict in Yemen.</s>MADRID: Spain says it has cancelled the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia amid fears that the weapons could be used in the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain's former conservative government, but the new centre-left administration plans to return the 9.2 million euros (USD 10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported on Tuesday.

A Defence Ministry spokeswoman who was not authorized to be identified by media confirmed the report, but declined to elaborate.

Rights groups have criticized the coalition's airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen for killing civilians, including children.

UN human rights experts say all sides may have committed war crimes.

The Saudi embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions.</s>MADRID — Spain said Tuesday that it has canceled the delivery of 400 laser-guided bombs purchased by Saudi Arabia, over fears that the weapons will be used against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The arms deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain’s former conservative government, but the new center-left administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to return the $10.6 million already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported Tuesday.

A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed the report, but declined to elaborate. She was not authorized to be identified in media reports.

International rights groups have blamed a Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen for the killing of civilians, including children. U.N. human-rights experts say all sides, including militias backed by the United Arab Emirates, may have committed war crimes in the conflict raging since March 2015.

The Saudi Embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to emailed questions and follow-up calls.

Sanchez’s Socialist party had promised to revise the country’s arms deals before the new prime minister ousted his predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a parliamentary vote in June.

As a longtime commercial ally of Saudi Arabia, Spain is the fourth-largest provider of military equipment and weapons to the Persian Gulf state, according to Amnesty International. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent global security database, says the United States, Britain and France are Riyadh’s main suppliers.</s>MADRID: Spain said Tuesday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

A defense ministry spokesman confirmed a Cadena Ser radio report that said Spain’s new Socialist government planned to return the 9.2 million Euros ($10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis for the arms under a deal signed by the previous conservative administration.

The spokesman declined to elaborate but the announcement comes after an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including 40 children.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and calls by the United Nations Security Council for a “credible and transparent” investigation.

The coalition had claimed to have targeted a bus carrying rebels.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after Shiite Huthi rebels linked to Iran ousted President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government from the capital Sanaa and seized swathes of the country.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then, 2,200 of them children, and sparked what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Amnesty International says Spain is one of biggest arms exporters to Saudi Arabia.

It and other rights groups, including Greenpeace and Oxfam, on Tuesday urged Spain to stop all arm sales to both Saudi Arabia and Israel, arguing the weapons are often used against civilians.

Spain signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia in April to sell the Gulf Arab state five small warships of the corvette type in a deal estimated to be worth around 1.8 billion Euros.</s>MADRID (AP) — Spain said Tuesday it has canceled the delivery of 400 laser-guided bombs purchased by Saudi Arabia, amid fears that the weapons could be used against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The arms deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain's former conservative government, but the new center-left administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to return the 9.2 million euros ($10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported on Tuesday.

A Defense Ministry spokeswoman confirmed the report, but declined to elaborate. She was not authorized to be identified in media reports.

International rights groups have blamed a Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen for the killing of civilians, including children. U.N. human rights experts say all sides, including militias backed by the United Arab Emirates, may have committed war crimes in the conflict raging since March 2015.

The Saudi embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to emailed questions and follow-up calls.

Sanchez's Socialist party had promised to revise the country's arms deals before the new prime minister ousted his predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a parliamentary vote in June.

As a longtime commercial ally of Saudi Arabia, Spain is the fourth largest provider of military equipment and weapons to the Gulf state, according to Amnesty International. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent global security database, says the United States, Britain and France are Riyadh's main suppliers.

The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, visited all four countries in April this year. Two months later, his government signed the purchase of five navy corvettes that a Spanish state-owned military shipbuilder has pledged to deliver for 2 billion euros ($2.31 billion). The contract had been in the works for years.

The sale was sharply criticized by Weapons Under Control, a campaign seeking to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia over its role in Yemen. The campaign, backed by Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Intermon Oxfam and Spain's FundiPau, also wants to end exports of weapons to Israel, a country they accuse of violating international laws in Palestine territories.

The group's representatives were meeting with Spanish trade officials on Tuesday to deliver thousands of signatures in support of their campaign, which also advocates for greater transparency in the sales of military and defense equipment that Spain shields under state secrecy laws.

A U.N. experts committee urged the international community last month to refrain from providing arms that could be used in the Yemen conflict, in reference to Western countries selling sophisticated weapons systems to the Gulf States.

The U.N. says the conflict in Yemen has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 22 million people in desperate need in what was already the Arab world's poorest country.</s>MADRID: Spain said on Tuesday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Cadena Ser radio report that said Spain’s new Socialist government planned to return the 9.2 million euros already paid by the Saudis for the arms under a deal signed by the previous conservative administration.

The spokesman declined to elaborate but the announcement comes after an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including 40 children.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and calls by the United Nations Security Council for a "credible and transparent" investigation. The coalition had claimed to have targeted a bus carrying rebels.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after Huthi rebels linked to Iran ousted President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government from the capital Sanaa and seized swathes of the country. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then, 2,200 of them children, and sparked what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Spain confirms that it has cancelled the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about the weapons' use in the conflict in Yemen.