Local Editor

At least 50 civilians were killed between June 11 and 15 in Yemen, most of them casualties of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes by warplanes, the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights [OHCHR] announced on Tuesday.

In the period spanning 11 to 15 June, a total of 50 civilians, including 18 children and 11 women, were killed, bringing the total number of civilian deaths in Yemen to 1,412, with another 3,423 confirmed as injured, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Switzerland’s city of Geneva on Tuesday. 

The UN recently reported that the total casualty figures of the country’s conflict have surpassed 2,600.

According to the latest figures released on Tuesday by OHCHR, the civilian cost of the Yemen crisis continues to grow amid the ongoing hostilities.

At least 36 civilians were reportedly killed as a consequence of airstrikes carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Sana’a, Hudaydah, Dhamar and Sada’a in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the OHCHR spokesperson Colville also noted that another 14 civilians were reportedly killed as a result of clashes between local armed groups and military forces acting together against Al Houthi-affiliated Popular Committees in Lahij, Taiz, Dhale and Aden Governorates.

Adding to the scale of destruction, Colville also observed that at least 13 civilian public buildings had been impacted during the five-day reporting period, bringing the total to 141 civilian public buildings partially or completely destroyed as a result of the conflict.

The UN World Health Organization [WHO] recently stressed that more than 15 million Yemenis do not have access to basic healthcare, with 53 health facilities closed and malnutrition increasing. Additionally, 80% of the country’s population is currently in need of critical humanitarian aid.

Additionally, Yemen’s extensive archaeological and historic heritage has been increasingly under threat following a surge in Saudi-led warplane bombing raids in Yemen’s capital, the Old City of Sana’a. 

Also addressing the press briefing in Geneva, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson, Christophe Boulierac, warned that the number of children in Yemen who had been killed in the last 10 weeks was four times more than the number of children killed last year in 2014.

Beyond that, he said that an estimated 9.4 million Yemeni children remained in need of humanitarian assistance as much of the population continues to struggle with food, power and water shortages.