UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called for "utmost restraint" and "a genuine and broad-based dialogue" in Yemen in order to avoid a further deterioration of the situation in the Middle East country.

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Ban, in a statement issued here by his spokesman, said that he "is greatly concerned about the deteriorating situation in Yemen. In particular, he condemns the excessive use of force by the security forces of the government of Yemen against peaceful demonstrators in Sana'a on March 12, which has led to the death of several people and the injury of many others."

"The secretary-general calls for utmost restraint," the statement said. "He urges the government and opposition groups to reach an understanding on entering into a genuine and broad-based dialogue leading to concrete results so as to avert a further deterioration of the situation."

"The secretary-general calls on the government of Yemen to uphold international human rights standards and to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations," the statement added.