Saudi Arabia and Yemen fail to halt U.N. Yemen human rights inquiry (UPDATE 1)

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted by 21 votes to eight on Friday in favor of prolonging an inquiry into human rights in Yemen, overriding objections from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Supporters of the resolution, including Canada and the European Union, had argued that an expert group mandated by the Council last year still had work to do, but opponents said it would exacerbate the crisis and increase regional instability.

In a report last month, the experts said air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen had caused heavy civilian casualties and some may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia rejected their findings.

Saudi Arabia is leading a Western-backed alliance of Sunni Muslim Arab states trying to restore the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthis in 2015.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the war and 8.4 million are on the brink of famine, the U.N. panel said in its report which blamed the coalition for most of the documented civilian casualties.

"In the past three years, such air strikes have hit residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats, and even medical facilities," it said.