A bipartisan group of US lawmakers in a letter to US President Donald Trump urged him to sign a joint resolution supported by Congress to end the United States' involvement in the war in Yemen. RNA - "As a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers, we respectfully ask you to sign into law Senate Joint Resolution 7, which invokes the War Powers Act of 1973 to end unauthorised US military participation in the Saudi-led coalition's armed conflict against Yemen's Houthi forces, initiated in 2015 by the [Barack] Obama Administration," Congressman Ro Khanna, Senator Mike Lee and seven other lawmakers said in the letter, RIA Novosti reported.
In their letter, the lawmakers stated that Trump's support for the measure could influence the Saudi-led coalition to end the conflict. The representatives also requested a meeting with Trump to further discuss the legislation as soon as possible.
The report comes after the US House of Representatives passed the Yemen war resolution by a 247-175 vote after it was approved by the Senate last month.
Earlier in March, the White House in a notice warned that Trump would veto the resolution, arguing that the measure would negatively affect bilateral relations with countries in the region and seeks to override the president’s constitutional powers.
A UN human rights report released last year attributed thousands of civilian deaths to Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on targets such as hospitals, schools and open-air markets. UN experts also concluded that war crimes have been committed by all parties involved in the conflict.
Since 2015, the United States has provided members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen with military assistance such as intelligence sharing, logistics support and, until recently, aerial refuelling. The Trump administration has come under fire for authorising military aid to Saudi Arabia despite the US bans on such assistance if recipients are guilty of serious human rights abuses and war crimes.
The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Yemen since March 2015, resulting in one of the world's most acute humanitarian crises, with about 22 million people in need of some form of humanitarian assistance or protection, according to the United Nations.
847/940