UN Records Nearly 9,000 Deaths in Yemeni Conflict Over Year

GENEVA (Sputnik) — Almost 9,000 people, including civilians, have been killed in hostilities in Yemen since March 2015, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Friday.

"Since the beginning of the conflict a year ago, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded a total of just under 9,000 casualties including 3,218 civilians killed and a further 5,778 injured (from 26 March 2015 to 17 March 2016)," the OHCHR statement reads.

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Hussein, the Saudi-led coalition conducting airstrikes in Yemen could be responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces put together.

"They have hit markets, hospitals, clinics, schools, factories, wedding parties – and hundreds of private residences in villages, towns and cities including the capital Sana’a… these awful incidents continue to occur with unacceptable regularity," the commissioner said, as quoted in the statement.

Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, who have been supported by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since late March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions at Hadi's request.