Experts backed by the U.N.’s top human rights body are flagging allegations of rape, sexual assault and gender-based violence committed by all sides in Yemen’s civil war, Associated Press reports.
The offenses also include those by militias backed by the United Arab Emirates. The militiamen have expanded their footprint in the south, seizing territory from forces loyal to the internationally recognized government, including the southern city of Aden.
The allegations are among key findings in the experts’ latest report about an array of rights violations during the conflict, now in its fifth year.
The experts commissioned by the Human Rights Council also denounced allegations of hostage-taking of women and girls, and said the Shiite Houthi rebels, who hold northern Yemen, have kidnapped and detained women over the last two years to blackmail relatives.