Ilhan Omar, a Muslim member of the US Congress, called the US sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia unacceptable due to the killing of Yemenis.
The Democratic senator from Minnesota wrote in response to a tweet from an American reporter that the Democrats criticized Biden’s decision to sell $ 650 million worth of new weapons to Saudi Arabia because of its brutality in Yemen: I agree that selling weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to kill the Yemenis is unacceptable.
The US lawmaker added that if we really believe in prioritizing human rights in our foreign policy, we will not arm human rights violators. This week we are working on a law to stop this sale.
The State Department recently announced its support for the sale of $ 650 million worth of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, claiming that the missiles were sold to Saudi Arabia to defend cross-border drone strikes that endanger Saudi and US personnel.
The State Department also announced its decision to Congress.
Congress can oppose the sale of these Ratione AIM-120C missiles.
A State Department spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Biden government was seeking to help Saudi Arabia replenish its missile stockpiles, according to Bloomberg.
The use of American missiles to target civilian targets in Yemen by Saudi fighter jets has caused much criticism and concern for lawmakers and human rights defenders.
Read more: Complaints from Paris over arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE: https://www.paksahafat.com/en/?p=12609
In April 1994, Saudi Arabia launched a large-scale offensive against Yemen, the poorest Arab country, in the form of a coalition of several Western and Arab countries, with US assistance, under the pretext of returning ousted fugitive President Abd al-Mansour Hadi to power.
The aggression has killed thousands of Yemenis so far, and according to the United Nations, the famine in the country has become the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.
UNICEF estimates that out of four children out of four, about 11 million are in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen, while 400,000 children are severely malnourished and two million are out of school.
The decision to sell the missile to Saudi Arabia also comes as US-Saudi relations soured after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashgechi. The assassination called into question US relations with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington.
The deal to sell the missile to Saudi Arabia also comes as US President Joe Biden seeks to persuade Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to increase production amid rising world energy prices.