Statement from Scott Paul, Oxfam America Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor:
This weekend’s attack on a funeral home in Sana’a was a gruesome act that served no purpose except to deepen Yemen’s misery. With more than 140 dead and more than 525 injured according to early reports, this was a massacre of civilians, apparently carried out by Saudi warplanes fueled and supported by the United States. It is telling that after initially denying responsibility wholesale, Saudi Arabia announced an investigation into the attack with support from US experts. Not for the first time, Saudi Arabia is using US support to legitimize its heinous conduct and deflect international criticism.
In response, the US announced that it will immediately review its support to the Saudi-led coalition. This review should have begun eighteen months ago, when it was clear that US support would inhibit efforts to avert a humanitarian crisis and reach a political settlement. And it should conclude immediately, with the withdrawal of all US support, including the sale of arms, to the parties. Any other choice signals ongoing indifference to the thousands of Yemenis killed by airstrikes and the millions on the verge of starvation thanks to a senseless, preventable conflict. The US must throw its full weight behind a political settlement, it cannot be a peace broker and an arms broker at the same time.