UN condemns escalation of Yemen conflict

By Bassel Barakat
ANKARA (AA) – The United Nations human rights agency voiced concern on Tuesday over the ongoing escalation in war-ravaged Yemen.

"We are deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of the conflict in Yemen,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

The spokesman said five Yemeni civilians were killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Sanaa on Monday.

"Those killed were five members of the same family, including two women and a child, when a house was hit in Ma'in district of the city [...] two other women and a child were reported to have been injured," he added.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or around 30 million people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.