Mourners attend the funeral of people, mainly children, killed in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a bus in northern Yemen, in Saada, Yemen August 13, 2018
Saudi Arabia on Saturday requested the United States to halt refueling the Kingdom's aircraft fighting in the Yemen war.
The Saudi press agency reported the Saudi-led coalition has increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in the war-torn country.
"As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested cessation of inflight refueling support for its operations in Yemen," it said in a statement.
A decision on halting refueling the Saudi planes would have little impact on the fight, said the U.S. media, adding it would allow the U.S. administration to signal action against Saudi Arabia.
According to the agency, the coalition hoped that the upcoming UN sponsored negotiations in a third country would lead to a negotiated settlement and see an end to the aggression by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias' against the Yemeni people and countries in the region, including the threat of ballistic missiles and unarmed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Yemeni forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition launched on Friday a "vast offensive" to take full control of Hodeidah, the internationally recognized government based in the southern city of Aden said in a statement."A military operation has begun and the national army forces have advanced towards the north and the western sides of the city of Hodeidah, progressing from all front with the support of the Arab coalition," it said. "Fierce battles are taking place at these moments." 
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launch new offensive to capture Hodeidah from Houthis
The move comes amid outrage by American lawmakers about the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
After offering vacillating explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance, Riyadh has acknowledged he was killed in a fist fight after he entered the diplomatic facility.
Khashoggi's body has not returned to his family despite calls for the Kingdom to do so amid speculation it was chemically dissolved.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the U.S. supported Riyadh decision for Washington to halt refueling of aircraft.
"We are all focused on supporting resolution of the conflict, led by UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths," Mattis said in a statement. "The U.S. and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their country's borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS [Daesh] efforts in Yemen and the region."
The U.S. is responsible for crimes against humanity regarding Iran and Yemen, Iran’s Foreign Minister said Thursday."You know what @SecPompeo? It's the Yemenis themselves who're responsible for famine they're facing. They should've simply allowed your butcher clients—who spend billions on bombing school buses "millions to mitigate this risk"--to annihilate them w/o resisting. #HaveYouNoShame,"Javad Zarif said on Twitter.On Oct. 30, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the cessation of hostilities in Yemen. He said in a statement that missile and drone strikes by Iran-allied Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should stop and air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition must cease in all populated areas of Yemen.Yemen defense minister appointed after 3-year vacancy"Just as with Yemen, @SecPompeo blames Iran for unlawful US sanctions preventing Iranians’ access to financial services for food and medicine. Naturally, we will provide them for our people in spite of US efforts. But US is accountable for crimes against humanity re Iran Yemen," Zarif said.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.EU allocates additional $100 million for Yemen crisisIn recent months, the fighting has been largely concentrated in Al-Hudaydah, where the two sides continue to fight over a strategic seaport located between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.Ongoing violence in Yemen has destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.Scores of rebels reportedly killed in Yemen clashes
Iran blames US for crimes against humanity in Yemen
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He said Washington will continue working with the caalition and Yemen to minimize civilian casualties and expand urgent humanitarian efforts throughout the country.
Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.
The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi has appointed a new defense minister, filling a post that had remained vacant for more than three years.According to a presidential decree issued Wednesday evening and carried by Yemen’s SABA news agency, the position was given to Lieutenant-General Mohamed Ali al-Maqdashi.The same decree also announced the appointment of Major-General Abdullah Salem al-Nakhei as army chief-of-staff and Major-General Taher al-Aqili as military adviser to the president.The post of defense minister has remained vacant since March of 2015, when the last defense minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, was captured by Houthi rebels in Yemen’s southern Lahj province.According to SABA, a second decree was issued late Wednesday appointing Ahmed Salem Rabie as governor of Aden (which has served as the government’s interim headquarters since 2015), replacing outgoing governor Abdulaziz al-Muflehi.Al-Muflehi, who currently resides in Saudi Arabia, announced his resignation last year, blaming the Yemeni government for Aden’s deteriorating security situation.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The ongoing violence has destroyed much of Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.
Yemen defense minister appointed after 3-year vacancy