Even as fresh civilian deaths were reported in a Saudi Arabian attack on Yemen, the Pentagon has approved the sale of up to 153 tanks, hundreds of machine guns and other military gear in a deal worth $1.15 billion to the country.
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On Tuesday the Saudi-led military coalition conducted air strikes on Sanaa for the first time in five months, residents said, after UN-backed peace talks to end the conflict broke down over the weekend.
The statement said Wednesday’s raids included Houthi positions in Amran province, north of the capital Sanaa.
The UN says that more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign began in March past year. They said that relief workers have been unable to retrieve the bodies of fighters who were killed.
State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said she was “very concerned” by Tuesday’s casualty reports, but did not directly comment when asked if the State Department anxious USA weapons being sent to Saudi Arabia could be used against civilians.
Air strikes were also reported in the northern city of Saada, the western cities of Jouf and Taiz, and the Red Sea ports of Makha and Houdeida.
“It is no secret that Saudi Arabia’s record on strictly targeting combatants and legitimate military targets in Yemen has been questionable”, Paul said in April.
The coalition launched airstrikes in the Nehm district, northeast of Sanaa, on Sunday, and there were reports that 18 civilians had been killed there.
Saudi Arabia has fought hard against criticisms of its attacks in Yemen and earlier this year allegedly pressured the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, to remove the coalition from a blacklist of groups that kill children during war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, UNICEF said that a total of 1,121 children have been killed and another 1,650 injured.
Sanaa airport director Khalid al-Shayef said the facility would be shut for 72 hours from Tuesday morning, at the order of Saudi Arabia.
Assiri said the coalition had respected the truce for three months but had resumed operations because of increased violations by the rebels and the failure of peace talks in Kuwait.
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The militants took advantage of the country’s wartime chaos to seize control of much of southern Yemen, but have suffered military setbacks inflicted by coalition-backed local forces.
