WASHINGTON: The Arab coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen is taking steps to reduce civilian casualties, the US State Department said on Thursday as it defended a certification to Congress by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to avoid limits on US aid to Saudi Arabia.
“They are taking steps, in the view of the US government and this administration, in the right direction,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing. “We see them taking steps...Do we see them doing what they can to mitigate civilian casualties? Absolutely we do,” she added.
Her comments came a day after Pompeo told Congress that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were working to reduce civilian casualties.
Pompeo said in a statement that he told Congress that the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE were taking concrete steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians and civilian infrastructure due to the operations of the Yemeni Legitimacy Alliance.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed that he fully supported and approved Pompeo’s certification, adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are making every effort to reduce the risk of civilian casualties and collateral damage.
Mattis also said the United States is working with the UN special envoy to achieve a negotiated end to the fighting.