In a letter sent to US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, a group of American lawmakers said that the US government should use its influence over the Saudi Arabia-led coalition that is bombing Yemen to protect civilians and promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
"We write to express our dismay over recent reports that airstrikes conducted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition struck yet another wedding reception", wrote the lawmakers, who all hail from the president’s own Democratic Party.
Saudi-led airstrikes on October 7 reportedly killed at least 23 people at a wedding party in Yemen. The attack came a little over a week after another Saudi-led attack killed more than 131 civilians at another wedding.
Human rights organizations have meanwhile said that the airstrikes may constitute war crimes.
"With this level of active involvement in the ["]campaign["], we are concerned that some overseas may hold the United States responsible for any civilian casualties resulting from the bombing", the lawmakers wrote.
"In order to protect innocent lives and reduce the potential for backlash against US interests, we urge your administration to work with our Saudi partners to limit civilian casualties to the fullest extent possible", they further wrote.
While the lawmakers say they "share the concerns" of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has called for the Saudi-led airstrikes to stop amid what the UN has declared a humanitarian emergency, they do not call for an immediate cease-fire. Instead, they say the airstrikes "should correspond to the standards that would apply to any US military operation for limiting civilian casualties and collateral damage".
The letter was signed by 13 of the most liberal members of the US Congress.
