The United States has hailed a promise from Saudi Arabia to scale down its air offensive against Yemen.
On Tuesday, Saudi warplanes bombed a crowded market in the Yemeni province of Hajjah. The bombing killed 119 people, including 22 children, drawing international condemnation.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Thursday welcomed a statement that the year-old Saudi war on Yemen was nearing the “end of the major combat phase.”
“We have expressed our concerns about the loss of innocent life in Yemen, the violence there that is plaguing that country has caught too many innocent civilians in the crossfire,” Earnest said.
“We would welcome and do welcome the statement from [Saudi-led] coalition spokesperson Saudi General Ahmed al-Assiri who indicated today that major operations in Yemen are coming to an end and that the coalition will work on ‘long-term plans’ to bring stability to the country.”
Al-Assiri had earlier said that “in any military campaign…