A/HRC/36/33 IV. Context 9. The present report covers the period from September 2014 to June 2017, and focuses primarily on the conflict between the forces supporting President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, including the coalition forces (together, “pro-Government forces”), and the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthis and the army units loyal to the former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh (“Houthi/Saleh forces”). 10. From July 2016 through June 2017, almost 8,700 conflict-related incidents, including airstrikes, armed clashes, shelling and detonation of explosives, were reported throughout Yemen.4 From January 2017, hostilities escalated with the launch of a campaign by the coalition forces that targeted the west coast. The average number of airstrikes per month in the Al-Hudaydah and Taizz governorates during the first three months of 2017 was almost double the average for the previous six months. 5 In that context, the proGovernment forces commenced operations against the southwestern port town of AlMukha, which they took in February, and thereafter pushed northwards along the coast. Since then, the coalition forces have signalled that they may commence operations on AlHudaydah. The High Commissioner has warned of the likely devastating consequences of such operations on both the city’s civilian population and the country’s largest port.6 The city of Taizz remains a heavily contested area, as it has for the past two years. 11. Other armed actors continued to take advantage of the prevailing insecurity in Yemen. In the past year, extremist groups sustained and adapted their presences. For example, after being driven out of Al-Mukalla in Hadramaut Governorate in April 2016, Al-Qaida is now operational in Taizz city. 12. None of the attempts at humanitarian pauses and ceasefires over the years have held. Peace talks held in June and December 2015, in Switzerland, and from April to July 2016, in Kuwait, were unsuccessful. Although talks have not resumed, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen continues to pursue potential avenues for peace. 13. The humanitarian situation in Yemen continued to deteriorate. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of June 2017, out of a population of 27.4 million, 18.8 million were in need of humanitarian assistance, including 10.3 million in acute need. There have been more than 500,000 suspected cases of cholera since April 2017 and 7.3 million people were on the brink of famine. More than 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict began. 7 This catastrophe is entirely man-made. V. National Commission 14. The mandate of the National Commission was extended for another year in presidential decree No. 97 of 24 August 2016. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/16, OHCHR deployed five additional staff members to Sana’a, Yemen, Amman, Jordan, and Geneva, Switzerland, from April 2017 to provide the National Commission with technical assistance and advice, and to complement its investigatory work. Owing to security constraints, no OHCHR staff could be based in Aden, where the Commission sits. 15. In consultation with OHCHR, the National Commission identified a number of priority areas for technical assistance. OHCHR conducted a variety of activities, including a workshop with members of the Commission on 21 and 22 February 2017 in Doha, Qatar, at which it presented regional best practices for commissions of inquiry; a working visit to the National Commission headquarters in Aden from 23 to 25 May 2017 to provide technical expertise on the development of databases, including on information management, 4 5 6 7 4 Information from United Nations sources. Ibid. See www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN17X1F1. See annex I.