Washington: The United States has decided to halt refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen.
In a statement released by its embassy in Washington on Friday, Saudi Arabia said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refuelling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis backed the decision. Critics of the Saudi campaign have long been questioning US involvement in the war, in which more than 10,000 people have been killed, over 2 million displaced and has spread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015.
There have been international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican politicians had threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refuelling operations. Welcoming the move Californian Democrat Ted Lieu said, “I’ve been calling for this for over three years”.