As Yemen’s Houthis continue their assault on Marib, the United Nations' human rights office on Friday sounded the alarm over the rebels’ attacks on civilian areas in the strategic region.

“We are seriously concerned at the continuing impact of fighting on civilians and the targeting of civilian objects in Marib Governorate in Yemen,” Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. 

The Houthis, who control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, are fighting a Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen's internationally recognized government. In February, the Iranian-backed rebels renewed their offensive on the oil-rich province of Marib, the government’s last stronghold in the north. 

Throssell noted a suspected Houthi missile and drone attack on June 10 that struck a Marib City compound that housed the governor’s office, a government ministry, the police headquarters, a mosque and a women's prison. According to the UN official, eight civilian police officers were killed and 30 other civilians, including one woman, were injured.