Trk Alarmed by Rising Civilian Toll in Yemen, Urges Restraint

Yemen: At least 17 civilians have been killed in attacks by the Houthi group - formally known as Ansar Allah - in government-controlled areas since 6 August, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk said in an alert. Two further casualties were reported in opposition-controlled areas in late July. According to United Nations, the Houthis control roughly a third of Yemen's territory but hold sway over a majority of the population, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The group has de facto authority in these areas, running its own administration and security services, though it is not internationally recognized - that status belongs to the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council based in Aden. Trk has called on all parties to de-escalate tensions and spare the Yemeni people from further misery, highlighting the devastating legacy of years of conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crisis. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric emphasized that all attacks risk further deepening civilian suffering and must end immediately. On 7 August, an Ansar Allah missile struck the Jaw al-Naseem camp for displaced people in Marib, injuring six civilians, including a child. Two days later, missile and drone attacks on Al-Mokha port in Taizz governorate killed three port workers and injured four others. The rights office (OHCHR) is verifying reports of further attacks on the port on 14 and 15 August that may have caused additional casualties. A separate attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on 11 August reportedly killed four crew members - three Pakistanis and one Indonesian - and injured several more, said OHCHR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. Fuel storage facilities and a residential compound at the Saudi field hospital in Mokha were among the civilian sites reportedly hit. Trk stressed the importance of all parties abiding by international humanitarian and human rights law, urging them to refrain from attacks against civilians and civilian objects. With at least 18 million Yemenis already food insecure, he warned that strikes on civilian infrastructure risk deepening an already dire situation. Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, warned the Security Council that Houthi attacks on commercial shipping threaten both global trade and the country's fragile truce, which has largely held since 2022. Reports also indicate that forces of the Yemeni Government carried out nearly 200 strikes on Houthi positions over a 24-hour period, killing and wounding dozens and destroying military equipment and weapons depots. Yemen's political and humanitarian crisis, which erupted in 2011, has displaced millions, devastated the economy, and left around 20 million in need of humanitarian assistance.