In May, President Donald Trump touted a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia – the first part of an agreement that could end up totaling $350 million over ten years. While that arms deal is still yet to be confirmed, the U.S. sold more weapons to Saudi Arabia than any other country in the world from 2012 to 2016.
Saudi Arabia is not alone in receiving weapons from the United States – 103 nations bought weapons from the U.S. from 2012 to 2016. The United States is the top weapons exporter in the world, providing a third of the world’s arms. Russia is the second largest exporter, accounting for 23 percent of weapons around the world.
According to Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia led an airstrike campaign that used unlawful airstrikes targeting civilians and banned cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch recorded 81 unlawful attacks in Yemen over the last two years. The Obama administration had previously suspended a $400 million weapons sale to Saudi Arabia after an a Saudi Arabia-led coalition bombed a funeral hall in Yemen.
Syria falls at number 11 on the list of countries receiving the most weapons from Russia. The Syrian government regularly carries out attacks on civilians in a conflict that has killed 470,000 people and displaced a total of 11.3 million.
All data was provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
