Geneva – Deaths and injuries among Yemeni civilians jumped to the highest monthly level so far this year in April, the UN said on Friday, pointing out that the Saudi-led military alliance has been causing most of the harm in the war.
“In April, 236 civilians were killed and 238 suffered injuries in the conflict,’’ Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman of the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva said.
In total, the UN office has counted almost 6,400 civilian deaths and some 10,000 injuries since the conflict intensified in the past three years.
“The vast majority of these 10,185 civilian casualties were as a result of airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition,’’ Shamdasani told a news conference.
In March 2015, the Iran-allied Houthi rebels advanced on the government’s temporary capital of Aden, prompting Tehran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia and its allies to start an air campaign.
“Monday’s Saudi-led airstrikes against the Presidential Office in Sana’a that killed six people raise serious questions whether international rules about protecting civilians in war are being honoured,’’ the spokeswoman said.
According to information collected by the UN Human Rights Office, the strikes hit a densely populated area twice within seven minutes, causing casualties among the first responders who had rushed to the scene after the first strike.
“The Houthis have also caused death and injury through indiscriminate shelling,’’ Shamdasani said, pointing to incidents on May 1 and May 2 which left five people dead.