Western-backed coalition under pressure over Yemen raid
An air strike on a funeral gathering on October 9, widely blamed on Saudi-led warplanes, poses more trouble for a Western-backed Arab campaign against Yemen's Houthis that has long been criticized for civilian losses.
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| Smoke rises at a community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah |
The White House announced an immediate review of Washington's support for the 18-month-old military push after planes hit mourners at a community hall in the capital, Sanaa, on October 8, killing 140 people, according to one UN estimate and 82 according to the Houthis.
The statement from Riyadh's main ally, noting for the second time in as many months that U.S. support was not "a blank check", sets up an awkward test of a Saudi-U.S. partnership already strained by differences over wars in other Arab lands.
The reproach also indirectly hands a propaganda win to Riyadh's arch-rival, Tehran, a Houthi ally that has long seen the Sunni kingdom as a corrupt and domineering influence on its impoverished southern neighbor, diplomats say.
Sources in the Saudi-led coalition denied any role in the attack, but Riyadh later promised an investigation of the "regrettable and painful" incident, with US expert advice.
The move was apparently aimed at heading off further criticism of a military campaign already under fire for causing hundreds of civilian deaths in apparently indiscriminate attacks.
