World News in Brief: ‘New intensity’ to Russian attacks on Ukraine, Yemen, Gaza and Colombia updates

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Russian armed forces have carried out repeated attacks across Ukraine over the past several days, killing and injuring civilians and damaging homes, hospitals, shops and workplaces, UN human rights monitors said on Thursday.

The attacks have involved ballistic and cruise missiles, drones and guided aerial bombs. Between 1 and 24 September, the Mission recorded at least 200 civilians killed and 1,234 injured – figures expected to rise as verification continues.

Vegetable warehouse hit

In the latest strike on Thursday, Russian forces hit a vegetable sorting facility on a farm in Stara Hnylytsia, Kharkiv region, killing seven civilians and injuring 12 others, local authorities said. All were reportedly farm workers sorting vegetables at the time.

“Workers have been killed while sorting vegetables. Families have been caught beneath the rubble of their homes,” said Danielle Bell, head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, citing hits on shopping centres, pharmacies, food warehouses and fuel stations. 

“This is 48 hours in Ukraine, and it comes after months of mounting civilian casualties.”

Kyiv saw civilian casualties on 16 of the first 24 days of September, the highest monthly frequency since the full-scale invasion began. 

Odesa has also faced repeated attacks, while Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian territory, where local authorities report growing civilian casualties.

Yemen’s people have suffered enough, warns Türk

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Amid ongoing fighting in Yemen between Government forces and Houthi rebels, UN human rights chief Volker Türk highlighted the “appalling” civilian toll on Thursday.

In a statement urging all sides to halt the violence, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said around 125,000 people have been uprooted from their homes, many forced to flee for their lives.

OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence called for an end to the escalation, urged respect for and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and said humanitarian assistance should reach “all those who need it”.

“The people of Yemen cannot withstand another full-scale conflict,” he said.

Since the start of August, OHCHR has documented the killing of 32 civilians, including 15 children and three women.

Houthi offensive

The emergency follows the Iran-backed Houthi fighters’ rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb, clashing with Saudi-backed Yemeni Government forces.

International human rights law prohibits targeting civilians, whose protection must be the overriding priority, Mr. Türk said.

OHCHR also demanded the immediate release of 73 UN staff members, and others, arbitrarily detained by the Houthis – also known as “Ansar Allah” – some for many years. “Their ongoing detention…is intolerable and unacceptable,” Mr. Türk said, adding that he feared for their safety amid the renewed fighting.

Gaza’s economic collapse has wiped out decades of development

War has hollowed out Gaza’s economy to such an extent that people now earn just 58 cents a day, the UN Trade and Development agency (UNCTAD) said on Thursday.

In its annual report on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the agency said 92 per cent of Gaza’s businesses are now damaged or destroyed.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost since 2023, and unemployment is “unprecedented”, with more than nine in 10 working-age adults now out of work.

“The military operation has gutted nearly every business,” said Mutasim Elagraa, UN Trade and Development Coordinator, speaking in Geneva. 

“That means productive capacity is wiped out, while the entire population is displaced and condemned to multidimensional poverty.”

Basic needs go unmet

“By multidimensional poverty, I mean not just income poverty. It’s also a lack of proper shelter, and a lack of access to basic services like health, education and sanitation.”

Housing has sustained more damage than any other sector, the report found, as a result of the war sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel in October 2023. Rebuilding homes alone will cost an estimated $19 billion, Mr. Elagraa said.

According to President Trump’s Board of Peace, around $71 billion will be needed over the next decade to rebuild Gaza.

Colombia’s new drug-trafficking laws reinforce ‘systemic racism’, say rights experts

Colombia’s renewed efforts to combat drug traffickers risk reinforcing systemic racism against people of African descent, independent rights experts reporting to the UN Human Rights Council warned on Thursday.

The warning follows the Colombian Government’s announcement that it intends to take a more forceful response to armed groups and drug gangs, including more arrests and law enforcement operations. After taking office in August, the Government also announced renewed efforts to eradicate illegal crops, including by spraying herbicide from aircraft.

Clashes continue

It is 10 years since the Government and the FARC-EP armed opposition reached a UN-backed peace deal aimed at ending decades of conflict, though clashes between security forces and drug gangs continue across the country.

The UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement warned that “predominantly punitive, militarised…approaches have failed to restore peace”, adding that security-led programmes have had a “disproportionate impact on Afro-Colombian communities, particularly in territories affected by armed violence, illicit economies and limited State presence”.

After visiting Colombia earlier this year, the independent experts, who are not UN staff, maintained that people of African descent continue to suffer “deeply rooted” systemic racism in law enforcement and criminal justice institutions. 

Racial stereotypes linking people of African descent with criminality continue to influence police encounters, disciplinary sanctions, and access to justice and effective remedy, they said.