Pompeo: US to hold Khashoggi killers accountable

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged on Sunday to hold accountable those responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Pompeo had a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

"The Secretary emphasized that the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same," said Nauert.

Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, was killed Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of a plot to murder him.

So far, 18 people, including security officers, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.

On Yemen, Pompeo reiterated Washington’s calls for a "cessation of hostilities and for all parties to come to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution" to the conflict under the UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths.

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.