Airstrike on Yemen school by Saudi-led coalition kills 10 children, wounds dozens

Sanaa (Yemen): An airstrike on a school purportedly carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen killed at least 10 children and wounded dozens more on Saturday, Yemeni officials and aid workers said. The Islamic school said in a statement that the strike in Saada, deep in the Houthis’ northern heartland, was part of raids that have resumed against the rebels after peace talks collapsed earlier this month. Aid group Doctors Without Borders condemned the attack on social media, saying that all ten killed and 28 injured were between eight and 15 years old. The school released some of the names of those killed. [caption id=“attachment_2955074” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] The conflict in Yemen pits the internationally-recognized government backed by the Saudi-led coalition against the Shiite rebels, who captured the capital in September 2014. The war has left a security vacuum throughout parts of the country. Both al-Qaida and its rival militant group, the Islamic State group, have exploited the turmoil and expanded their footprint in the country’s southern region. Separately, lawmakers convened at Yemen’s parliament for the first time since the Houthis disbanded the body in early 2015, aiming to consolidate power inside the country after the Shiite rebels and the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh named a joint body to rule the parts of the country they control. The internationally recognized government-in-exile, led by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, considers that body illegitimate. Rights groups and U.N. agencies say that more than 9,000 people have been killed during the conflict, which pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine.