( CNN ) Thursday will mark three weeks since Saudi Arabia began airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen . But there is as yet little sign that the rebels are being driven back , that the fighting in Yemen is dying down or that lives there are being saved . To the contrary , increasingly more Yemenis appear to be fleeing the country , attempting the dangerous trip in rickety fishing boats across the Red Sea to the Horn of Africa -- a trip historically made by people fleeing Africa rather than the other way around . Hopes for stability , not only in Yemen but in the Middle East in general , are fading as fears grow that Saudia Arabia and Iran are fighting a proxy war in Yemen for regional domination . And the number of dead continues to mount . Yemen 's health ministry said over the weekend that 385 civilians had been killed and 342 others had been wounded . The World Health Organization has put a higher figure on both tolls -- 648 killed and 2,191 wounded -- but includes militant casualties in the totals . The Houthis forced Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi from power in January , though Hadi still claims he is Yemen 's legitimate leader and is working with the Saudis and other allies to return to Yemen . Those allied with Hadi have accused the Iranian government of supporting the Houthis in their uprising in Yemen . Like the Iranians , the Houthis are Shiites . And like the Saudis , Hadi and his government are Sunni . Since it began on March 26 , Saudi Arabia has launched more than 1,200 airstrikes . Saudi officials claim to have killed more than 500 Houthi rebels . The U.N. Security Council voted Tuesday in favor of an arms embargo on Houthis -- the minority group that has taken over large swaths of Yemen , including its capital , Sanaa -- and supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh . The resolution `` raises the cost '' for the Houthis , according to Mark Lyall Grant , Britain 's ambassador to the United Nations . In addition to the arms embargo , the resolution also demands that the Shiite group pull back and refrain from more violence and includes sanctions aimed at controlling the spread of terrorism , according to Grant . Russia abstained from Tuesday 's vote , saying it did n't like the inclusion of sanctions . Why is Saudi Arabia bombing Yemen ?
Saudi officials say 500 Houthi rebels killed , but signs of progress appear scant . Civilian casualties continue to mount . U.N. Security Council favors Houthi arms embargo .