Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in an effort to undermine Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, whose fighters forced the US-backed president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, into exile.

The United States has more than doubled the number of its military staff “providing intelligence, munitions and midair refueling” for Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes on Yemen, according to The Los Angeles Times.

In addition, US warships have also helped enforce a naval blockade in the Gulf of Aden and southern Arabian Sea.

However, human rights groups say the blockade has hindered imports of basic commodities, including food and fuel, to the impoverished nation.