UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to �hostilities� in Yemen amid a rise in the number of civilian fatalities caused by Saudi airstrikes.

Ban, in a statement released on Wednesday, asked �all parties to the conflict to immediately cease all hostilities and for the Yemeni parties to return to direct talks facilitated by his special envoy for Yemen.�

Riyadh has dramatically stepped up its air raids in�Yemen, especially Sana'a,�ever since�peace talks in Kuwait between representatives of the Saudi-backed�former government and�Houthis�were suspended on August 6.

The UN chief reminded all parties �of the utmost necessity to protect civilians and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.�

Ban further condemned the loss of at least nine civilian lives in a recent Saudi aerial attack against the Nihm district east of the Yemeni capital, Sana�a, but he�did not name the kingdom in his criticism.

�Civilians, including children, are paying the heaviest price in the ongoing conflict, as civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, continue to be hit,� he said.

The attack came�less than 48 hours after�Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders�(MSF) said�Saudi airstrikes on a school in the northern�province of Sa�ada had killed 10 children.

The UN chief has already taken flak for dropping Saudi Arabia from a list of children's rights violators after coming under "undue pressure."

On Wednesday, the Ansarullah spokesman held Saudi Arabia responsible for the stalemate and rising deaths in Yemen, saying the Houthi�movement had given a series of concessions but the opposite side was sticking to its uncompromising ways.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, in a post published on his Twitter account, said Ansarullah had decided to change its�tactics and "firmly stand by the Yemeni nation."



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Workers collect human remains at the yard of a hospital after it was hit by a Saudi airstrike in the Abs district of Hajjah Province, Yemen, August 16, 2016. �Reuters[/caption]

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia kept on attacking new positions across Yemen. Yemeni reports said warplanes�had�carried out nearly 50 airstrikes against various neighborhoods across the Sa�ada�province in a span of 24 hours.

At least three people lost their lives and eight others sustained injuries on Wednesday evening when a�Saudi jet�struck a residential building in Majz district.

Saudi warplanes also launched two airstrikes against the Kahlan military base, and another against non-operational Sana�a International Airport.

Furthermore, Saudi aircraft struck�Sahar and�?aydan districts in�Sa�ada�Province.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015 in a bid�to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has stepped down as Yemen�s president but is now seeking to grab power by force.

According to UN, the conflict in Yemen has damaged or demolished more than 70 health centers, including three MSF�facilities.

By Press TV