UN: Almost 1,900 civilians killed in Yemen conflict

The civilian death toll from four months of fighting in Yemen has risen to nearly 1,900, with at least 202 people killed over the past 12 days, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said another 353 civilians were wounded from July 16 to 27. The global body declared it's highest-level state of emergency in Yemen on July 1, indicating that the country is on the brink of famine due to the fighting.

Twenty civilian facilities have been partially or completely destroyed, bringing to 207 the total so far, the rights office said.

The fighting in Yemen pits Shia Houthi rebels and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against southern separatists and supporters of President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A Saudi-led coalition of several regional countries began airstrikes on March 26 against the Houthi rebels. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday the coalition might have committed a war crime when it bombed two residential compounds, killing 65 people including 10 children.

The coalition’s attack Friday on two residential compounds near the Mokha steam power plant in the Houthi-controlled governorate of Taiz was one of several airstrikes that appear to have been unlawful but have not been investigated by international authorities, HRW said in a news release Tuesday.

"Again and again, we see coalition airstrikes killing large numbers of civilians, but no signs of any investigation into possible violations," Ole Solvang, a senior HRW researcher, said in a release. "If coalition members won't investigate, the United Nations should."

There was no immediate response from the Saudi-led Arab coalition to requests for comment from Reuters news agency.

Al Jazeera and wire services