GENEVA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Monday voiced alarm at continuing civilian casualties in Yemen as hostilities increase and spread.
In the first eight days of February, the UN Human Rights Office verified that 27 people were killed and 76 injured in Yemen, more than double the number of civilian casualties confirmed during the previous week.
"The upsurge in fighting in the southwestern Governorate of Taizz is of particular concern. Civilians are under fire on all sides, as Houthi and affiliated forces carry out sniper attacks and indiscriminate shelling, and the Saudi-led Coalition continues to conduct airstrikes," said Zeid.
Among the incidents verified by the UN Human Rights Office, three children were killed when Houthi forces shelled Usayfrah in Al Qahirah district in Northern Taizz on Feb. 6.
On Feb. 8, a woman working as a field monitor for the Yemen National Commission of Inquiry, Reeham Badr Al Dhubhani, was killed in shelling by Houthi forces on Al-Lasb area in Salh district, the UN said.
"Reeham Badr Al Dhubhani had received training from my Office in carrying out human rights monitoring, and we send our profound condolences to her family and friends," said the High Commissioner.
According to the UN, increased armed clashes in Taizz in recent weeks have also fuelled fears that the violence will spread from suburban areas of Taizz City to other neighborhoods, including the densely populated area of Alhuban.
Since March 2015 and as of Feb. 8, the UN Human Rights office had documented 15,467 civilian casualties in Yemen, with 5,974 killed and 9,493 injured.
