WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Friday issued a bipartisan call for the Houthis to halt their offensive on Marib:
“In 2018, the international community called on the Saudi-led coalition to halt plans to attack the city of Hudaydah due to the massive humanitarian implications. Thankfully, those calls were heeded and we avoided a mass starvation event in Yemen. Today it is the Houthis who risk unleashing a new humanitarian catastrophe on the 3 million people of Marib, the overwhelming majority of whom are internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have sought shelter in the city or nearby camps,” the senators wrote. “We call on the leaders of the Houthis and their supporters in the Iranian government to stop the offensive on Marib and avoid the needless death and destruction that would come from a protracted battle. We urge all parties to agree to a nationwide ceasefire and begin inclusive political negotiations to end the war.”
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