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US calls for end to hostilities in Yemen

The West has backed the Saudi-led bombing campaign in the country, which has put millions on the brink of famine, with logistical support and weapons

US officials called for an end to hostilities in Yemen yesterday, urging all sides to come to the negotiating table and demanding an end to Saudi-led air strikes.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped that United Nations-led negotiations to end the devastating three-year war, which has brought millions of Yemenis to the brink of famine, would resume next month.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis called for an end to the Saudi bombing campaign, which Washington has backed with logistical support and weapons.

“We have got to move towards a peace effort here and we can’t say we are going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next 30 days,” he told those gathered at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.

The US relationship with Saudi Arabia has come under intense scrutiny since dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi security operatives in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

President Donald Trump has been reluctant to impose sanctions, claiming that millions of US jobs rely on the sale of weapons and military hardware to Riyadh.

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