Washington, Oct 12 (IANS) US Senator Chris Murphy, who said he was at Riyadh’s airport the day before Saturday’s deadly Houthi attack, opposed American military action in Yemen.
Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told CBS’ Face the Nation that he had passed through the airport after meetings with Saudi and Qatari officials.
“Yes, I was in that airport the day before, having visited the Saudis and the Qataris, who are trying to negotiate an end to the war,” Murphy said.
“I mean, listen, what I saw on the ground is a war that is spiraling out of control. You have a dozen dead, a full-blown new war between the Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Host Margaret Brennan said 12 people were killed and 309 injured in the attack, including one American killed, and that the US had not committed to retaliating on behalf of the Saudis.
Asked whether retaliation would be appropriate, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think the United States should go to war in Yemen.”
“We would simply escalate and make the situation even more dangerous if we then went to war not only with Iran, but with the Houthis in Yemen as well,” he added.
Murphy said the best way to protect American troops in the region was “to end this war, to unilaterally end American hostilities, and to, frankly, ask our partners in the region to do the work of reopening the strait and reopening the Red Sea”.
Brennan said the Pentagon had disclosed 20 American fatalities on Saturday.
Murphy did not refer to Indian or other foreign casualties.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said on Sunday that 11 Indians were among those injured in the attack.
“It is learnt that one Indian national injured in the Riyadh attack has unfortunately lost his life today,” the Embassy said in a later update on X. It said it was in touch with the family and would support “the early repatriation of mortal remains”.
In a further update, the Embassy said its officials had visited all hospitals where injured Indians had been admitted. Three were “in ICU but stable”, two more were in normal wards and the others had been discharged, it said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said he was “deeply grieved at the loss of life of an Indian national in the Riyadh attack”.
“The Embassy will extend all possible assistance,” he wrote on X.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement issued late on Saturday Washington time, said “The repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately.”
Saudi Arabia is home to about 2.74 million Indians, according to Embassy figures cited by the Indian Express, one of the largest Indian communities abroad.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the attack was “a terrible thing” and that he would speak to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. No readout of a call had been released by Sunday evening.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed movement that controls much of northern Yemen, have stepped up attacks on Saudi airports, military sites and oil facilities since a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive against them this month.
–IANS
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