US Senator Chris Murphy introduced an amendment to the 2019 Defense Appropriations bill to cut off funds for the war in Yemen unless the Defense Department can confirm that the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign does not violate international law, Murphy's office said in a press release on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) US Senator Chris Murphy introduced an amendment to the 2019 Defense Appropriations bill to cut off funds for the war in Yemen unless the Defense Department can confirm that the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign does not violate international law, Murphy's office said in a press release on Friday.
"US Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ... on Friday announced an amendment to the FY 2019 Defense Appropriations bill that would cut off United States support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalitions war in Yemen until the Secretary of Defense certified that the coalitions air campaign is not violating international law and US policy related to the protection of civilians," the release said.
Murphy is quoted in the release as saying that unless the Pentagon is 100 percent sure that US weapons and funds are not being used to commit war crimes in Yemen, US support should be cut off immediately.
The effort to cut off funds for the war comes after the Saudi-led coalition last week carried out an airstrike on a school bus in Yemen, killing 54 people, including 44 children, according to local health officials. The United Nations believes one-third of the Saudi-led coalition's strikes are hitting civilian targets.
The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels since 2015 while also organizing a massive sea blockade of the country, with millions of Yemenis suffering from hunger and lacking access to fresh water.
