Isis claims responsibility for suicide attack in Yemen which killed 49 soldiers

Houthi militia, which has the backing of Iran, has killed more than 14,000 Yemeni civilians in the last four years since its coup against the war-torn country's legitimate government, a human rights watchdog revealed.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is going from bad to worse with Houthis assuming control of the capital city Sanaa and spreading its battlegrounds across the country, Bassem Al Absi, a member of the Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations said in Geneva.

He was talking at a symposium conducted on the sidelines of a meeting jointly organised by Human Rights Council (HRC) and the World Federation of Yemeni Communities.

Civilians who were killed in the civil war include children, women and aged people and the executions were carried out mostly by way of sniping, mine attacks, illegal executions and tortures. "There are more than 3,500 detainees in militia jails," Al Absi said, adding that Houthi terror network is responsible for destroying basic infrastructure and amenities, houses and public and private properties, an Arab News report said.

Houthis, who mainly consist of Zaidi Shia followers in Yemen and has gained control of a sizable part of the country, have been resisting a Saudi-led military coalition that supports an internationally recognised Yemeni government. The ongoing civil war devastated the country since 2015 after the coalition intensified its strike against Houthi rebels.

Calling on the HRC to strengthen its efforts in implementing its resolutions, Al Absi said that the human rights watchdog has to ensure that the militia follows international human rights norms and laws and stop attacks against the country's innocent civilians.

Torture Deaths

In fact, as many as 170 victims of 455 torture cases reported between September 2014 and December 2018 were killed.

The civilians, who were killed in torture, include children, women and old people. The horrific tortures, especially targeted at politicians and human rights activists, also resulted in mutilations and permanent disabilities of the abductees said the participants at the symposium, which also highlighted human rights violations against women and children in regions controlled by Houthis.