State Department in US Says ” Path Cleared for Congress to Consider U.S. Arms Sale to Riyadh”

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has authorized the State Department to notify Congress of the Trump administration’s sale of precision-guided munitions for Saudi Arabia to use in its Yemen campaign, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.

The notification is one of the last steps in the arms sale process and triggers a formal 30-day review to allow members of Congress to attempt to pass legislation to stop any sale, according to The New york Times.

Asked on Tuesday whether the Saudis had taken specific measures to improve targeting capabilities, the senior U.S. diplomat, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones, did not answer directly.

“That’s a continuing source of conversation between us,” Jones told reporters. “We’re constantly trying to improve that process.”

U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation last week seeking to block about $500 million of a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, including the portion on precision-guided missiles and other offensive weapons.

Saudi-led Coalition have killed more than 12000 civilians since 2015, most of them by U.S weapons.