Bahrain Mirror-Exclusive: In a letter to President Trump, Amnesty International urged him not to approve pending arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and not to sign off on the sales because of the Saudi-led coalition's conduct in Yemen's civil war.

"There is substantial risk that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other coalition members could use new U.S. arms to further devastate civilian lives in Yemen," the organization wrote in the letter. "This could implicate your administration in war crimes or violations of international humanitarian law. Amnesty International researchers have already found both unexploded U.S. bombs and identifiable fragments of exploded U.S. bombs among the ruins of Yemeni homes and other civilian objects."

Amnesty said that the arms sale to Saudi Arabia could allow the country to modify thousands of air-to-ground munitions that could be used in strikes against civilians and violate international law.

"If approved, this deal would essentially have President Trump throwing gasoline on a house fire and locking the door on his way out," Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA executive director, said in a statement.

She added "Arming the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain governments risks complicity with war crimes, and doing so while simultaneously banning travel to the U.S. from Yemen would be even more unconscionable. President Trump must not approve this arms deal."

Amnesty also asked Trump to place a "comprehensive embargo" on all arms sales that could be used by parties to the Yemen conflict so long as there is risk of war crimes or other violations.

The Trump administration has signaled a desire to step up the fight against the Houthis as part of its countering of Iranian aggression. The new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has approved the resumption of the sale, according to multiple reports. The sale needs White House approval before it moves forward after it was halted by the Obama administration.

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