US Senate votes to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen

Xinhua | Updated: 2019-03-14 14:44

Senators Bernie Sanders (R), and Chris Murphy, along with Reps. Ro Khanna, Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal and Ken Buck hold a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce the reintroduction of a resolution to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen in Washington, DC, US, Jan 30, 2019. [Photo/IC]

WASHINGTON - US Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution asking for an end of US support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's war in Yemen, a move breaking from President Donald Trump's foreign policy toward the kingdom.

Senators voted 54-46 to approve the resolution seeking to terminate any US military involvement in the conflict without authorization from Congress. Seven Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in supporting the measure.

The Senate vote came hours after the White House formally threatened to veto the resolution, arguing it was "flawed."

The resolution will move to the Democrats-controlled House of Representatives, where the lawmakers are expected to pass it.

The split between the Trump administration and Congress on Saudi Arabia has become more obvious in the wake of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey's Istanbul in October 2018, and a number of top Saudi officials involved in the case were arrested.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah.

The four-year civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.