Geneva, 17 Dul Hijjah 1439 AH-28 September 2018, SPA -- A United Nations report has confirmed that Houthi militias carried out widespread abuses in areas under their control amounting to war and international crimes, including murder, torture, child recruitment, arbitrary detention, killing of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of populated areas and serious restrictions on freedom of religion, belief and expression. The report was issued by a team of regional and international human rights experts commissioned by the Human Rights Council to conduct a comprehensive examination of the human rights situation in Yemen during the period from September 2014 to June 2018. The report expressed concern about the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by Houthi militias in densely populated urban areas in violation of the international humanitarian law and the denial of access to humanitarian and other goods indispensable for the survival of civilians. The report, issued today in Geneva and will be presented to the 39th session of the Human Rights Council to be held in September, said that sniper attacks of Houthi militias resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties in the provinces of Hajjah, Lahig and Taiz. The report also pointed out that in the areas under their control since 2015, the Houthi militias have carried out acts of intimidation, arbitrary detention and torture, as well as crackdowns on the media in Sana'a, blocked news sites, newspapers and television channels, closed down civil society organizations and their headquarters, targeted political opponents, froze their money and bank accounts, arrested journalists and 23 journalists are still detained by the Houthi militias in Sana'a. -- SPA 13:11 LOCAL TIME 10:11 GMT 0006 www.spa.gov.sa/w739546