THE British government was accused today of complicity in Turkish war crimes by supplying weapons to the despotic regime as it heightened attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan this week. 

Since the weekend, Turkey has launched multiple attacks in northern Iraq, destroying 81 sites in Kurdish and Yazidi refugee camps protected by the UN.

Britain has licensed £1.1 billion worth of arms to Turkey since Recep Tayyip Erdogan became president in 2014, according to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). 

This week, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly admitted that the government had granted licences to Brighton-based weapons firm EDO MBM Technology for exports of equipment for use by the Turkish army. 

The firm is known to have supplied parts used by Turkey to manufacture Bayraktar TB2 drones, which have been heavily used in Ankara’s operations against Kurdish-led forces in Syria. 

The Kurdish Solidarity Campaign (KSC) claims that Turkish drones are also being used in Libya, which is currently under a UN arms embargo.

Mr Cleverly said that he would revoke the license if it was found to be in breach of government criteria. 

KSC spokeswoman Rosa Gilbert said his comments confirmed that the “UK government is fully complicit in Turkey’s war on Kurds,” and must be held to account.

CAAT’s Andrew Smith told the Morning Star: “As long as governments like the UK continue to arm and support Turkish forces they are making themselves complicit in their abuses. 

“If Boris Johnson and his colleagues want to help the situation then there must be a full investigation into whether UK arms have been used, and a ban on all future sales.”