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The United States is seeking reimbursements from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the Pentagon failed to charge them for fuel and refueling services, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The oversight was reported by The Atlantic last week, and now the U.S. is now requesting $331 million from the two countries.
U.S. Central Command reviewed its record and is seeking $37 million for fuel and $294 million for mid-air refueling services conducted by American forces.
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia would help Lebanon economically once it forms a new cabinet."As soon as we form the government, you will see Saudi Arabia take some serious steps towards Lebanon, helping Lebanon economically," he said, speaking at Chatham House in London.Lebanon will form government 'despite obstacles,' says FM
Lebanon's Hariri: Saudi will help economically once govt formed
"Our partners have been individually notified about our intent to seek reimbursement, and have been given estimates as to how much they owe," Pentagon spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement.
Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country and the crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition, with support of the U.S., launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.
Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the UN estimates 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.
On Thursday, a resolution seeking to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen passed in the Senate.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen said on Thursday that U.N.-backed agreements between Yemen's warring parties required the withdrawal of Houthi forces from the strategic port city of Hodeidah.Mohammed al-Jabir said the agreements, which have not been released to the public in full after talks in Sweden, required the Houthis' "withdrawing from the city and port of Hodeidah, as well as Taiz, and the release of thousands of detainees and prisoners."
Saudi ambassador to Yemen says UN agreement requires Houthi withdrawal from Hodeidah