US Withdraws Staff from Saudi Arabia Dedicated to Yemen Planning
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The US military has withdrawn from Saudi Arabia its personnel who were coordinating with the Arab coalition air campaign in Yemen, and sharply reduced the number of staff elsewhere who were assisting in that planning, US officials told Reuters.
Fewer than five US service people are now assigned full-time to the “Joint Combined Planning Cell,” which was established last year to coordinate US support, including air-to-air refueling of coalition jets and limited intelligence-sharing, Lieutenant Ian McConnaughey, a US navy spokesman in Bahrain, told Reuters.
That is down from a peak of about 45 staff members who were dedicated to the effort full-time in Riyadh and elsewhere, he said.
The staff withdrawal, which US officials say followed a lull in airstrikes in Yemen earlier this year, appears to reduce Washington’s day-to-day involvement in advising a campaign that has come under increasing scrutiny for causing civilian casualties.
The US military personnel were withdrawn from Riyadh in June, US officials said.
“The shift does not diminish US commitment to supporting Saudi-led military operations. The JCPC forward team that was in Saudi Arabia is now in Bahrain,” said Chris Sherwood, a Pentagon spokesman, who added that US aerial tankers continue to refuel Saudi aircraft.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that as the strikes intensify again, the US might decide to readjust its support. Peace efforts in Yemen have stumbled, and the coalition’s air campaign against Houths has been stepped up once more.
A spokesman for the coalition, Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Asiri, declined to confirm details about the positioning of US military personnel, but played down such moves.
“The relationship between the kingdom and the US is a strategic one. If true, this move reflects something at a tactical level,” Asiri told Reuters. “The US may move its assets, but that doesn’t have any impact on the bilateral relationship between the countries.”
Since the campaign began, the US military has conducted an average of two refueling sorties every day. The United States also has provided limited intelligence support to the coalition but officials stress that Washington has not selected targets.
American officials have said they have sought ways to help the coalition improve targeting and have ensured Saudi access to precision-guided munitions. The Pentagon also has sent US military lawyers to help train their Saudi counterparts on how to ensure the legality of coalition strikes.
