Yemen on Verge of Total Collapse Amid Coalition's Airstrikes - UN

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Yemen amid continued airstrikes by the international coalition, causing numerous casualties, has put the war-torn country on the verge of collapse, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Zeid Raad Al Hussein said on Tuesday.

Yemen is currently suffering from an armed confrontation between the Houthi rebel group, the main opposition force in Yemen, and forces loyal to the country's president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has fled the country amid the hostilities. Last week, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition began conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions on Hadi's request.

"The situation in Yemen is extremely alarming, with dozens of civilians killed over the past four days. The country seems to be on the verge of total collapse," Zeid said.

On Monday, an airstrike took place on the al-Mazraq camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in the north of Yemen with at least 19 fatalities, some 35 others injured including 11 children, according to the OHCHR.

The UN Human Rights official, "shocked" over Monday's airstrike on the IDP camp, home to some 4,000 people, expressed alarm over the fast deteriorating human rights situation in Yemen.

Since March 27, at least 93 civilians have been killed and 364 injured in Sanaa, Sada, Dhale, Hudayda and Lahj, the OHCHR said. Numerous Yemeni citizens are crossing the Red Sea after fleeing their homes amid the ongoing Saudi-led airstrikes against Yemeni Houthis. Over the last weekend, more than 100 people fled Yemen to Djibouti and Somaliland, according to the UN refugee agency.

Zeid also condemned the Houthi rebels' recent attacks on hospitals and other medical facilities. In Dhale, the Houthi rebel group reportedly attacked three hospitals causing numerous casualties and destroying private homes, education facilities and infrastructure.

The Houthis have recently taken over the country's capital Sanaa, forced the elected President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to flee the country, and made rapid advances into other cities.

The ongoing Saudi Arabia-led coalition's military operation aims to defeat the Houthis, who are supporters of ex-Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and restore Hadi's government to power.