Norway, a NATO ally of Turkey, announced Thursday it was suspending all new arms exports to the country after Ankara launched a military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

"Given that the situation is complex and changing quickly, the foreign ministry as a precautionary measure will not handle any new demands for exports of defence material or material for multiple uses... to Turkey," Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said in an email sent to AFP.

She added that the ministry would also review all licenses for arms exportation that have already been issued.

Syria's Kurds, who were the West's allies in the fight against Islamic State group jihadists, were battling Thursday to hold off a Turkish invasion as thousands of civilians fled air strikes and shelling that deepened fears of a humanitarian crisis and raised international alarm.

Finland, which is not a member of the NATO alliance, announced on Wednesday the suspension of all new arms exports to Turkey or any other country involved in the fighting.

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French former govt officials on trial over alleged arms deals kickbacks
Paris (AFP) Oct 7, 2019
Three top former French government aides went on trial Monday charged with arranging a system of kickbacks on arms deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. The trial is the first to arise out of a sprawling investigation into the so-called Karachi affair, named after the Pakistani city where a bus carrying French defence engineers was blown up in 2002, killing 15 people. Al-Qaeda was initially suspected of the attack, but the focus later shifted to the arms deals amid suspicions the bo ... read more