US Aiding Saudi War Crimes In Yemen: Congressman
Local Editor
The United States is helping Saudi Arabia commit "war crimes" in Yemen, according to US Congressman Ro Khanna.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera's UpFront aired on Friday, Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California, said the US made a mistake in supporting the Saudi-led coalition's bombing campaign of Yemen.
"Today, I believe that we are aiding Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia's committing war crimes," Khanna told UpFront host Mehdi Hasan.
The US House of Representatives passed a resolution earlier this week that called on the US armed forces to withdraw from "unauthorized hostilities" in the Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen, which began in 2015.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and the Saudi-led coalition has bombed key infrastructure and imposed a strict blockade on the country.
Yemen is facing a dire humanitarian crisis and millions of people will die in what could be the worst famine in decades if the blockade is not lifted, the United Nations recently warned.
The US has assisted Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in "conducting aerial bombings in Yemen" and provided "midair refueling services" to their warplanes, according to the resolution, which was overwhelmingly adopted by a vote of 366-30.
While the resolution is non-binding, Khanna, who was one of its co-sponsors, said it would put pressure on the Saudis to provide greater humanitarian access to Yemen and allow food and basic medicine to reach Yemenis.
Source: Al-Jazeera, Edited by website team
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