Saudi Arabia Denounces US Senate 'Interference' In Yemen

The aftermath of an airstrike in Yemen (Picture: PA).

Saudi Arabia has denounced the US Senate after the body voted to end American military aid for the war in Yemen.

The resolution passed by 56 votes to 41 with some Republican senators defying White House instructions and voting with the Democrats.

It is the first time any chamber in the United States Congress has voted to pull the US military out of a conflict since the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act.

The resolution is considered unlikely to become law but illustrates lawmakers’ increasing anger towards a key US ally in the Middle East.

The United States stopped refuelling Saudi war planes in November and were the bill to become law this practise would not resume.

Senators also unanimously voted to pin the blame for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Riyadh blasted the Senate for its "interference" and in a statement to journalists said:

"The Kingdom has previously asserted that the murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi is a deplorable crime that does not reflect the Kingdom's policy nor its institutions and reaffirms its rejection of any attempts to take the case out of the path of justice in the Kingdom."

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives declined to vote on the resolutions last week but US Senator Bernie Sanders – who co-sponsored the measures – said he thought they would pass once Democrats take control of the House in January.

President Trump has pledged to veto the measures were they ever to land on his desk.

The White House has cited America’s economic ties to the Kingdom and said the measures would undermine the Saudi-led coalition in its fight with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.