Unicef chief 'horrified' at airstrike hitting school bus

The chief of the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has strongly condemned the airstrike against a school bus in Yemen in which killed more than two dozen children.

"Attacks on children are absolutely unacceptable," said Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore on Twitter on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I'm horrified by the reported airstrike on innocent children, some with Unicef backpacks. Enough is enough."

At least 43 people, mostly children believed to be under the age of 10, were killed and several injured when Saudi-led coalition airstrikes hit buses in northern Yemen on Thursday, officials said.

The buses were targeted as they were passing through Dahyan market in the rebel-held province of Saada, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

Some reports said that the number of casualties could be well above 60, with dozens severely injured. Many of the children were reported to be under the age of 10, according to UN News.

According to the UNICEF, since conflict between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels escalated in 2015, about 2,500 children have been killed and 3,600 maimed in Yemen.

Yemen's conflict has its roots in uprisings that date back to 2011, but fighting escalated in March 2015, when an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily at the request of its government.

Attacks against civilians have been the scourge of this conflict. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "tens of civilians were killed in violence in several governorates" in the past 10 days alone.

--IANS

pgh/