GENEVA (Dispatches) -- The United Nations on Friday blamed Saudi Arabia for a deadly airstrike on civilians in Yemen this week, saying there were no military targets in the area hit.
The attack on Tuesday in the Mawza district of the southwestern province of Taez killed at least 20 people, including four children, according to residents.
The UN human rights office, which put the death toll at 18, said the strikes hit three families who were staying in a makeshift straw house after being displaced from their homes three months ago by fighting.
The office said in a statement that the strike was carried out by "Arab Coalition Forces", referring to the Saudi-led military group waging a ruthless war in the impoverished country.
"There do not appear to have been any military objectives anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the destroyed house," it added.
Saudi Arabia has faced repeated criticism over civilian casualties in Yemen. Riyadh and its allies have admitted responsibility for some strikes that killed non-combatants, including a raid on the capital Sana’a in October 2016 that killed more than 140 people at a funeral ceremony.
The United Nations called for a "comprehensive and impartial investigation" into the latest incident.
The conflict in Yemen has escalated dramatically since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia launched a military invasion against the country.