A NOTORIOUS arms fair in London is to be targeted for two weeks of resistance by protesters.

The annual Defence & Security Exports International (DSEI)  fair is attended by delegates from the world’s most repressive and murderous regimes, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar and Israel.

It is backed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and UK Defence and Security Exports, part of the Department for International Trade.

The event, one of the world’s largest arms fairs, takes place this year at London’s ExCel centre from September 12 to 15. More than 2,800 manufacturers will be displaying their deadly wares.

Campaign groups under the banner Stop the Arms Fair will begin their protests on September 4 by targeting firms setting up the event.

Emily Apple, of Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), one of the groups involved in the action, said: “DSEI is a marketplace in death and destruction.

“Deals done at DSEI will cause misery across the world, causing global instability, and devastating people’s lives. 

“Representatives from regimes such as Saudi Arabia, who have used UK-made weapons to commit war crimes in Yemen, will be wined and dined and encouraged to buy yet more arms.

“Arms dealers do not care about peace or security. They care about perpetuating conflict because conflict increases profits for their shareholders.

“Meanwhile this government has shown repeatedly that it cares more about the money made from dodgy deals with dictators than it does about the people whose lives will be ruined by the sales made at DSEI.

“It’s therefore down to all of us to take action to resist DSEI and to shut this arms fair down for good.”