EU parliament urges Saudi arms embargo

The European Parliament has voted for an EU-wide arms embargo against Saudi Arabia.

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the embargo on Thursday (February 25), which is not legally binding.

They said Britain had licensed more than 3 billion euros of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since Saudi-led forces began military operations in Yemen in March last year.

The parliament said Britain, France and other EU governments should no longer sell weapons to a country accused of targeting civilians in Yemen.

The United Nations said nearly 6,000 people have been killed since the coalition entered the conflict, almost half of them civilians.