The United Nations and local medics said Tuesday the death toll from a reported airstrike on a wedding party in southwestern Yemen has risen to at least 130 people.

A Saudi-led coalition that has been conducting airstrikes in Yemen targeting Houthi rebels since March denied that it was responsible for the attack Monday on the village of Wahijah.

A spokesman, Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Asseri, called the allegation “totally false.”

Civilians have been caught in the yearlong battle that began with Houthi fighters seizing the capital, Sana’a, and then pushing south to the port city of Aden in an offensive that sent President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia.

Hadi returned this month after the airstrikes and pro-government forces pushed the Houthis back from Aden.

Death toll

The U.N. Human Rights Office said Tuesday that as of last Thursday, 2,355 civilians had been killed in the past six months. Human rights groups have blamed both sides for killing civilians.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Monday’s attack and reiterated that there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen.

A statement late Monday from Ban’s spokesman highlighted the illegality of attacks against civilians and said Ban again called for all parties in Yemen to halt the fighting.

“Any intentional attack against civilians is considered a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement said. “Violations of international law should be investigated through prompt, effective, independent and impartial mechanisms to ensure accountability.”

The fighting has forced about 1.8 million people from their homes in Yemen, according to U.N. data, and left many more in need of food and other basic humanitarian aid.
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