GENEVA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- United Nations agencies said Tuesday they are deeply concerned by a series of attacks in Yemen over the past week that have killed dozens of civilians, including several children.
Jens Laerke, Geneva spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said humanitarian operations are currently blocked due to the closure of air and sea ports in Yemen.
"The Coalition has requested the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism to inform all commercial vessels at Hudaydah and Saleef ports to leave," said Laerke at a UN briefing in reference to the Saudi-led force fighting rebels in the country.
Humanitarian flights to and from Yemen have been on hold since Nov. 6, said OCHA.
He said the port of Al Hudaydah is the backbone of the humanitarian operations in Yemen and a lifeline to millions of people.
"It is a humanitarian imperative that it continues to function. All air and seaports need to remain open to ensure that food, fuel and medicines can enter the country," said Laerke.
Serious conflict began in March 2015, when the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict to back the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Houthi rebels, who invaded Sanaa and seized most of the country's northern provinces.
The OHCHR said that on Nov. 1, two air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit the Al Layl market in the Olaaf area of Sahaar district in Saada governorate, killing 31 civilians, including six children, and wounding 24 others.
The following day, Nov. 2, seven members of a farming family, including the farmer himself and three of his children, were killed in a coalition air strike on their home in Al Islan area in Baqim district of Saada governorate.
