Support Dingell-Ellison to End Civilian Deaths in Yemen Airstrikes

On September 28, at least 131 civilians, including at least 80 women, were killed at a wedding reception in Yemen in an airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition. The US is providing the coalition with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistics information. With innocent Yemeni civilians, including thousands of Yemeni-Americans, still caught in the middle of this war, the coalition’s airstrikes should be held to the same standards for protecting civilians as any US military operation should be.

According to Amnesty International, more than 2,100 civilians, including at least 400 children, have been killed in the conflict, with the “vast majority” of civilian deaths and injuries attributed to attacks by the Saudi-led coalition. More than 1.4 million people have been displaced; 12.9 million are considered food insecure; more than 1.2 million children are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. Thousands are fleeing Yemen every week; experts warn that tens of thousands of Yemenis could join the waves of refugees seeking asylum in Europe if the conflict is not resolved soon.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an “end to bombings” in Yemen and has said there is no military solution to this conflict. Diplomatic action, including sustained engagement with Iran, is the only way to end the hostilities, reverse the humanitarian crisis on the ground, and protect more innocent lives from reckless airstrikes.

Urge your Representative in Congress to sign the Dingell-Ellison letter [1] to President Obama to urge greater efforts to protect civilians from US-assisted airstrikes in Yemen and greater diplomatic efforts to end the Yemen war by signing our petition.

References:
1. http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/support_letter_expressing_concerns_of_growing_civilian_death_toll_in_yemen_airstrikes/