GENEVA: The UN rights chief voiced outrage Thursday at the growing civilian toll in Yemen, as the conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces and their allies intensifies.
The recent Houthi takeover of Yemen's Red Sea coast has left hundreds dead and heightened fears over global trade and shipping through the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.
It has also forced thousands to flee, with the United Nations on Tuesday forecasting the number of displaced could swell from over 130,000 today to more than 230,000 in the coming months.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was "appalled" at the situation.
"As if the people of Yemen haven't already endured enough misery, civilians are now bearing the brunt of this latest upsurge in fighting," he said in a statement, insisting that "civilians must never be targeted, and their protection must be the overriding priority".
Turk's office said at least 125 civilians had been killed or injured in Houthi attacks since the start of August, adding that it had documented the killings of 32 of those civilians, including 15 children and three women.
It also said it had documented three Houthi attacks on sites hosting internally displaced people in Marib province on August 7 and September 9.
The Houthis meanwhile say Saudi Arabia has conducted hundreds of strikes in Yemen since the collapse of a four-year truce in July.
"Warring parties must distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives," Turk said.
The UN rights chief also stressed that warnings or designations of so-called "kill-zones", which he said had recently been declared by the Yemeni government, do not "remove the protection afforded to civilians and civilian objects".
Turk called on all sides in the conflict to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid to reach civilians in need.
"People fleeing the fighting, as well as those already displaced, must be protected and have safe access to food, water, shelter, healthcare and other essential services," he said, urging all sides to "step back from further escalation".
"The people of Yemen cannot withstand another full-scale conflict."