UN plans human rights investigation in Yemen

A team of United Nations human rights investigators will travel to Yemen next week to assess the situation in the country after months of unrest, a UN spokeswoman said on Friday.

"The UN human rights office is due to deploy a three-member delegation to Yemen on Monday for a 10-day mission to assess the human rights situation in the country in light of recent events," spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

No further details were immediately available but the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay would issue a statement later in the day, she said.

The United States and Saudi Arabia are pushing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power to his deputy under a Gulf Arab proposal aimed at ending unrest that has pushed Yemen close to a civil war.