Saudi Bombing Kills 29 Civilians in Yemen as Vote Looms to Stop US-Backed Carnage

Update: The U.S. House on Wednesday afternoon said the War Powers Resolution "shall not apply to" the bipartisan Yemen resolution. The development--stripping the legislation of its privileged status--as the Forum on the Arms Trade notes, draws "into question when a full vote on the resolution would occur ... Earlier, it appeared a vote would happen around November 3."

Earlier: Hours before a House resolution on stopping U.S. support for the bombing campaign may face a vote, a Saudi-led strike killed over two dozen civilians in northern Yemen.

The attack in the province of Saada on Wednesday "demolished the budget hotel and reduced market stalls outside to a heap of twisted sheet metal," the Irish Times reports.

"The bodies of the victims, many of their faces disfigured beyond recognition, were laid out on white body bags for families to identify in the courtyard of a hospital morgue," Al Jazeera reports.

The health service put the death toll at 29. Al Jazeera adds: "Abdulrahman, who declined to give his surname, said there were no Houthi fighters in the area when the attack happened."

The latest such attack on civilians follows ongoing criticism directed at Saudi Arabia for potential war crimes committed since the bombing campaign on the impoverished nation began in 2015--a conflict in which the U.S. is complicit through its arms sales, as well as logistical and intelligence support to the kingdom.

As Reuters reports: "The 2-1/2 year war effort has yet to achieve its goal of restoring to power the internationally recognized government, but the conflict has unleashed one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and killed at least 10,000 people."

And as author and journalist Stephen Kinzer recently noted, "This war could not proceed without American help."

As such, it puts in sharp relief House Concurrent Resolution 81, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and 39 co-sponsors, which calls for an end of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's campaign against the Houthis in Yemen 30 days within 30 days of its passage.

Ongoing military support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen, said Stephen Miles, director of Win Without War, "is the poster child of what's wrong with American foreign policy." And that aid, he said, has helped fuel "the largest humanitarian crisis on the planet under the absurd belief that more bombs would somehow bring peace."

The resolution, said William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, is "a chance for Congress to take a stand against the seemingly endless wars the United States has engaged in during this century, most of which have not been appropriately authorized by the Congress."

"It's long past time for the United States to stop supporting a war that independent human rights organizations believe may involve war crimes on all sides. Continuing down this path will not only risk implicating the United States in these violations of the laws of war, but it will foster resentment that will make it easier for groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to garner support," Hartung continued.

While House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is reportedly trying to kill the effort, progressive voices are urging voters to call their representatives to add their support for the resolution.