US Lawmakers Urge Obama to Protect Civilians in Yemen

The U.S. government should use its influence over the Saudi Arabia-led coalition that is bombing Yemen to protect civilians and promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict, a group of U.S. lawmakers say in a letter sent to President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

“We write to express our dismay over recent reports that airstrikes conducted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition struck yet another wedding reception,” wrote the lawmakers, who all hail from the president’s own Democratic Party.

Airstrikes on October 7 reportedly killed at least 23 people at a wedding party in Yemen. The attack came a little over a week after another suspected Saudi-led attack killed more than 131 civilians at another wedding.

Human rights organizations have said the airstrikes may constitute war crimes.

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Over 2,100 civilians have been killed since Saudi Arabia began launching airstrikes on Yemen in March after Houthi rebels, allied with the country’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, took over much of the country and forced into exile its internationally recognized government. The vast majority of deaths have been attributed to the Saudi campaign.

A military arms depot was hit by a Saudi-led airstrike on the Nuqom Mountain overlooking Sanaa, Oct.15, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

The U.S. government has been providing both weapons and intelligence information to the coalition, which includes Bahrain, Jordan and other U.S. allies.

“With this level of active involvement in the campaign, we are concerned that some overseas may hold the United States responsible for any civilian casualties resulting from the bombing,” the lawmakers wrote. “In order to protect innocent lives and reduce the potential for backlash against U.S. interests, we urge your administration to work with our Saudi partners to limit civilian casualties to the fullest extent possible.”

While the lawmakers say they “share the concerns” of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has called for the airstrikes to stop amid what the U.N. has declared an humanitarian emergency, they do not call for an immediate cease-fire. Instead, they say the airstrikes “should correspond to the standards that would apply to any U.S. military operation for limiting civilian casualties and collateral damage.”

The letter was signed by 13 of the most liberal members of the U.S. Congress, including Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, James McGovern, John Conyers and Keith Ellison.

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