UN experts have 'strongly suggested' that the various parties involved in the conflict in Yemen have perpetrated war crimes. 

The group has published a report on the ongoing conflict, covering the period between September 2014 and June 2018.

It suggests that individuals from the Saudi-led coalition in the country and the de facto Yemeni authorities have committed acts that may amount to international crimes once examined by a court.

There were at least 16,700 civilian casualties between March 2015 and June 2018, although the actual figure is believed to be 'significantly higher'.

According to the experts, coalition airstrikes have been the cause of most civilian casualties - with strikes hitting markets, residential areas, funerals, weddings, boats and medical facilities.

As well as attacks, the report also says possible war crimes include "cruel treatment and torture, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 or using them to participate actively in hostilities".

The authors further suggest that "severe" naval and air restrictions imposed by the coalition - including the "effective closure" of the country's main airport in the capital Sana'a - could amount to a violation of international humanitarian law.

The report also raises concerns about the alleged use of weapons with wide area effects by Houthi-Saleh forces in urban areas, and that "many parties" fighting in the southwestern city of Ta’izz have been responsible for civilian casualties.

"Prioritise human dignity"

Kamel Jendoubi, right, Chairperson of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, and Charles Garraway, left, member of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, during a press conference in Geneva. Picture by: Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP/Press Association Images

Kamel Jendoubi, chairperson of the Group of International and Regional Eminent Experts on Yemen, observed: “There is little evidence of any attempt by parties to the conflict to minimise civilian casualties. I call on them to prioritise human dignity in this forgotten conflict.

“I urge all parties to take the necessary measures to remove disproportionate restrictions on the safe and expeditious entry into Yemen of humanitarian supplies and other goods indispensable to the civilian population, and the movement of persons including through Sana’a International Airport in compliance with international humanitarian law."

The experts add that they have identified individuals who may be responsible for crimes, and have submitted a confidential list of the names to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Last week, the UN's humanitarian chief condemned attacks in Yemen after an airstrike killed at least 22 children.

He called for an 'impartial, independent and prompt' into a number of recent incidents that have left dozens of civilians dead.

Separately, the Human Rights Watch charity claimed that the coalition's efforts to investigate alleged war crimes in the country 'lack credibility and fail to provide redress to civilian victims'.

Fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the ousted Yemeni government – supported by the Saudi-led coalition – has been ongoing in the region for three years, intensifying the crisis that began with a revolution in 2011.

The conflict has resulted in what's been described by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.