A British parliamentary group, the International Development Committee, has criticised the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the British government for granting two arms export licences to Eritrea, saying it had "yet to take on board effectively the human rights and conflict concerns which are at the heart of development policy." The licences had been granted despite concerns expressed by development officials, with DTI officials claiming that licences were not issued for military or dual-use exports if the equipment could be used for "internal repression or external aggression", Reuters news agency reported. The International Development Committee said Britain, one of the world's biggest arms exporters, should liaise more closely with other industrialised nations to stem the flow of weapons to developing countries.
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