UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Five children were reportedly among people killed in Thursday's attacks on Yemen's capital of Sanaa, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
Sixteen more children were among the dozens of people injured, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a regular briefing.
In addition, several health workers were also reportedly among the casualties from the Thursday strikes, he said.
Lisa Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement issued in Sanaa, "We grieve with the families of the victims and are aghast this tragedy has occurred."
She said the strikes were a tragic reminder of all the reasons the war must end.
"International humanitarian law is clear," said Grande. Everything must be done to protect civilians. This is not optional. This is a legal, and above all, moral obligation on all parties."
Fighting in Yemen has continued despite the Hodeidah Agreement reached in Sweden in December, an accord calling for a partial cease-fire to set up demilitarized zones in the vicinity of three Red Sea ports.
Phase 1 of the Hodeidah Agreement only began to take form in practice earlier this week when the rebel Houthis withdrew from the major Hodeidah port and the two lesser ports of Ras Issa and Saleef, officials said. The ports are crucial for getting humanitarian aid to a country on the brink of starvation.
Dujarric said the Yemeni parties met from Tuesday through Thursday in Amman, Jordan, discussing the implementation of Phase 2 of the accord.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, continues to engage with the parties to further these discussions and advance the implementation of the agreement, Dujarric said.
The latest talks took aim at reaching agreement on financial aspects, such as repair, maintenance and general operating expenses of the ports, including workers' pay, humanitarian aid agencies have reported.
