News briefing
Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice
Geneva: January 18 2022
Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, expressed her grave concern over the continued escalation of the conflict in Yemen.
In a press briefing published on January 18, 2022, the UN spokesperson stated that the air strikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition on the capital, Sanaa, killed at least five civilians of the same family, including two women and a child, when a house was bombed in the Ma’in neighborhood of the city at about 21.25.
Shamdasani added that 2022 had already seen the conflict intensify, as the year began with a major counter-attack by government forces against Ansar Allah in Shabwah Governorate to the south-west of Marib, with fighting now pushing to the governorates of Marib and Al-Bayda. In recent days, there have been dozens of airstrikes and artillery strikes by the parties, apparently with little regard for civilians.
The spokeswoman clarified that figures collected by the United Nations Human Rights Office indicate that so far in January, there were 839 air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, compared to 1,074 for the whole month of December. There were about 16 strikes by drones. 12 ballistic missiles and three other projectiles were fired by Ansar Allah forces towards Saudi territory in December.
Shamdasani reiterated the Secretary-General’s calls for all parties to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation, stressing that, stressing that time has shown that there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen.
