Mr Kerry also hit out at Iran, saying its arms shipments to the Houthis posed a threat to the wider region as well as the United States.
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In February 2015, the Houthi rebels forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbor to the north.
KELEMEN: Secretary Kerry says he’s raised concerns about civilian casualties with his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, who says his country is being careful in its targeting unlike the Houthi rebels, who he says are laying siege to towns and villages, using children as soldiers and getting weapons from Iran.
On Yemen, a senior State Department official said, Kerry wants “to share ideas and initiatives for getting the political discussions back on track and trying to get a political solution”.
The secretary of state said the new “fair and sensible” plan calls for a unity government and a transfer of heavy weapons from the Houthi rebel group to a third party.
He said details of the initiative would be finalised by the “parties themselves”. But that the final agreement, in broad outline, would initially include a “swift formation of a national unity government with power shared among the parties”.
The UN-sponsored peace talks to end 18 months of fighting in Yemen collapsed this month in host Kuwait.
As the civilian death toll in Yemen climbs following the suspension of United Nations -brokered peace talks, the kingdom has faced rising criticism from human rights groups.
Since the conflict flared with Saudi Arabia’s entry, 3,799 civilians have been killed and 6,711 injured, according to the U.N. More than 7.6 million people are now suffering from malnutrition and at least three million people have been forced to flee their homes.
In a statement, Zeid’s office said he “called on the global community to establish an worldwide, independent body to carry out comprehensive investigations in Yemen”, noting in particular “challenges” faced by the national panel set up under President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi – notably, security concerns.
Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition are responsible for the deaths of some 60 percent of the 3,799 civilians killed since March 2015, and the country has committed other violations that may contravene global law, the office said in a report.
Speaking at a press conference in Jiddah, Mr Kerry said: “The bloodshed, I think most would agree, has simply gone on for too long”.
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He added that Saudi Arabia is the first country to provide humanitarian aid to Yemen, in line with King Salman Center and through direct support, we are very keen to offer all possible humanitarian assistance to our brothers, in Yemen.
