The “StG 77” can be “clearly recognized” in photos on social networks because of its distinctive shape, writes the “Salzburger Nachrichten” (Tuesday edition). In a roundregarding way, the weapons ended up in the hands of the militant Islamist militia, which has repeatedly attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea since the Gaza War.
According to “SN,” 20,000 units of the 77 assault rifle were sold completely legally to Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s. The weapon is considered war material and is subject to strict export controls and may therefore not be sold to warring countries or in conflict regions. The Interior, Foreign and Defense Ministries – then under the SPÖ’s sole government – approved the sale. A so-called end user certificate is said to have been crucial for this. “The buyer thereby assures that the weapons will not be passed on. But apparently Saudi Arabia did not comply with this.”
Dropped with a parachute
In the fight once morest the Houthi militia in neighboring Yemen, the Saudis equipped their allies with the Austrian weapons; following fighting, they probably ended up in the hands of the rebels. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia even dropped the weapons by parachute over Yemen.
The managing director, Oliver Bauer, emphasized to the “Salzburger Nachrichten” that exports to Saudi Arabia are no longer taking place today: “We live with the legacy that these weapons are now appearing in these conflicts. I find it tragic. We build them, to defend Western democracies.” Weapons made by Steyr repeatedly appear in conflicts in the Middle East.
