29 children killed, 30 others wounded in Yemen after Saudi's attack

Children

Some of the victims of the attack
Photo: BBC/Reuters

Some of the victims of the attack
Photo: BBC/Reuters

At least 29 children have been killed and 30 wounded in a Saudi-led coalition air strike in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.

The children were travelling on a bus that was hit at a market in Dahyan, in the northern province of Saada.

The health ministry run by the rebel Houthi movement put the death toll at 43, and said 61 people were wounded.

According to the BBC, the coalition, which is backing Yemen’s government in a war with the Houthis, said its actions were “legitimate”.

Related News

It insists it never deliberately targets civilians, but human rights groups have accused it of bombing markets, schools, hospitals and residential areas.

Meanwhile the new UN special envoy to Yemen, former British diplomat Martin Griffiths, is planning to invite the warring parties to Geneva in September to discuss a framework for negotiations.

He told the BBC’s Lyse Doucet that if the conflict is left unresolved, Yemen could collapse and the international community could be looking at “Syria-plus” in the years to come.

“The war in Yemen will get more complicated the longer it goes on. There will be more international interest and polarisation in terms of the parties, it will fragment further, it will be more difficult to resolve – even more than it is now.”

Load more