UN urges Yemen’s warring rivals to cease-fire, protect civilians

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called on Yemen’s warring rivals to extend a UN-brokered cease-fire and provide protection to civilians in the war-torn country.

"It is now just over a month since the expiry of a UN-mediated truce in Yemen that started on 2 April, and we are gravely concerned for the safety and security of civilians," OHCHR spokesman Jeremy Laurance told reporters.

He said the OHCHR documented "loss of life and injuries from attacks and shelling on civilian areas.”

"Our Office also verified three incidents of sniper shootings attributed to Ansar Allah forces, injuring a boy, a woman and two men,” he said, in reference to Houthi rebels.

The spokesman called on Yemen’s warring parties “to facilitate the access of humanitarian relief organizations to populations in need and to facilitate civilian access to humanitarian and life-saving services."

The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels failed to renew a UN-brokered cease-fire which, which ended on Oct. 2.

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

A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to restore the government to power.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions suffering from hunger.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar