In a rare move, the United States on Tuesday withdrew the United Arab Emirates from a coalition that has bombed Yemen in a war that has killed more than 6,000 people.
The UAE withdrew after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution that called on the coalition to “exercise restraint and refrain from attacking or launching attacks on civilian areas, including hospitals, schools, markets and health facilities, and to refrain from targeting health facilities.”
The resolution also condemned the coalition for attacking medical facilities and schools.
In the UAE, the move marked the second time the coalition has pulled out of a coalition operation in the past few months.
In May, the US announced that it would no longer be participating in a coalition raid in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“The coalition is currently in the process of reviewing its decision and will provide a response to the Council in due course,” the US State Department said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United Kingdom have been waging an air campaign in Yemen since March 2015 to try to reinstall President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who has been accused of aiding the Houthis and other armed groups that have been fighting to oust the internationally-recognized government.
While the United states has not publicly announced its withdrawal, the administration on Tuesday described the move as “a matter of routine” in a letter to Congress.
The coalition is expected to issue a formal statement of withdrawal in the coming days.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced that the United State would withdraw from a military exercise in Saudi Arabia that it has held for several years, saying it had been compromised by “irregularities.”
The Trump administration also ordered the Pentagon to suspend the sale of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
Trump’s move comes after a US air raid killed at least nine civilians in a Saudi town, prompting international outcry.
