The letter cites the growing casualties among civilians in Yemen caused by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes as the reason for the delay.
“This military campaign has had a deeply troubling impact on civilians. Just in the last several days, a Saudi airstrike on a school in Yemen killed 10 children – some as young as 6-years-old – and a Saudi airstrike on an MSF hospital in Yemen killed 11 people,” the draft letter, obtained by the Foreign Policy, said.
On August 9, the US State Department approved the sale of the weapons and ammunition to Riyadh. The Congress, which will reconvene on September 6, will have only two days to block the move.
Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force. Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.
The UN human rights office said in a report earlier this month that about 3,800 civilians were killed and more than 6,700 wounded in Yemen between March 2015 and August 23, 2016.
