German ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia extended

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - Germany decided to extend its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia for six months, according to German news agency DPA that cited a government spokesman Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center- left coalition partner, SPD, strongly opposes lifting the ban on states involved in the conflict in Yemen.

The arms exports ban was introduced last November after the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and was previously extended until Sept. 30.

The extension moves that date to the end of March 2020.

Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2, 2018 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia initially denied any knowledge of his whereabouts after he went missing but later attempted to blame his death on a team of rogue operatives carrying out a botched rendition operation.

Khashoggi, according to reports by the UN and other independent organizations, was murdered and dismembered, very likely on orders of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.