UNICEF Says Blast In Yemen's Sanaa Killed 14 Children, Injured 16 Others

UNICEF Says Blast in Yemen's Sanaa Killed 14 Children, Injured 16 Others

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2019) An explosion in the Yemeni city of Sanaa killed 14 children and critically injured 16 others but that number could increase, UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) official Geert Cappelaere said in a press release on Tuesday.

"A blast in Sanaa this week killed 14 children and critically injured 16," Cappelaere said in the release. "This is what UNICEF was able to verify, with the actual number of children killed and injured likely to increase."

The explosion occurred near two schools and most of the children impacted by the blast are under the age of nine years old, Cappelaere said.

In 2015, the Saudi-led coalition began conducting airstrikes against rebel Houthi forces in Yemen at the request of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi's government. The intense fighting has left about 22 million people in need of some form of humanitarian assistance or protection, according to the United Nations.