MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Thursday, Yemen accused George Abu Zulof, the head of the OHCHR (UN Office of the Human Commissioner for Human Rights) office in Yemen, of not providing an "impartial" assessment of the human rights situation in the country. George Abu al-Zulof was declared persona non grata and was expelled from Yemen.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his "full confidence" in the official on Thursday, urging the government of Yemen to reconsider its decision on the expulsion.
On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called on the Yemeni government to reverse the decision to expel George Abu Zulof.
Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force, since 2014.
An international coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been launching airstrikes in Yemen at the request of president Hadi since March 2014, in an attempt to push Houthis out of areas they have come to control.
According to OHCHR, almost 2,800 civilians have been killed in the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen since March 2015.
