Germany extends ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia

Reuters
Reuters
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says the new ban will last 6 months

The German government has extended its arms export ban to Saudi Arabia by an additional six months until March 31, 2020, a government spokesman said.

The export ban was introduced in Nov. 2018 after the death of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Top officials in Saudi Arabia are suspected of being behind the killing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative government had previously pushed to lift the ban, but their centre-left coalition partners came out strongly against renewing arms exports to countries involved in the ongoing Yemen conflict.

Merkel herself earlier this week said she saw no basis for lifting the ban.

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