Warren Joins Bipartisan Letter to President Biden Calling on Administration to Help End Devastating Blockade of Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport
Saudi-led Blockade Leaves 16.2 Million Yemenis at Risk of Famine; Bipartisan, Bicameral Lawmakers Call on Biden to Use Diplomatic pressure to Reopen Airport
Washington, D.C. – Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined a bipartisan and bicameral letter calling on President Biden to exert diplomatic pressure on the coalition led by Saudi Arabia to end their blockade of Sana’a International Airport. Flights in and out of Yemen's largest airport have been restricted since August 2016 due to a blockade of Yemen's airspace instituted by the Saudi-led coalition as a part of the ongoing civil war. The blockade has made the airport off-limits for both commercial and humanitarian purposes and exacerbated the ongoing crisis. The blockade is devastating: nearly 80% of Yemen’s citizens are in need of humanitarian assistance and 16.2 million people are at risk of famine, including 400,000 children under the age of 5.
“The United States must make clear that this cruel and senseless blockade is causing devastating harm to millions of innocent Yemenis and is harmful to diplomacy and the peace process. The Biden Administration should leverage all possible influence to pressure the Saudi-led coalition to end and decouple its blockade of the Sana’a International Airport from negotiations and allow for the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid through the airport,” wrote Senator Warren and her colleagues.
Senator Warren has been an outspoken critic of the Saudi-led coalition’s military operations, their use of blockade tactics in Yemen, and U.S. support of the coalition, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe that has impacted the lives of tens of millions of innocent Yemenis:
Senator Warren and 15 of her Senate colleagues urged President Biden to take immediate action to leverage all U.S. influence and tools to pressure Saudi Arabia to unconditionally and immediately end its blockade tactics of Yemen.
Senator Warren asked the Department of Defense to investigate all cases where U.S. operations caused civilian harm, including in Yemen, and asked it do everything it can to prevent civilian harm
Senator Warren questioned military commanders about tracking military operations in Yemen
Senator Warren called for the United States to end its military involvement in Yemen
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