The United Nations confirmed the deaths of at least 26 children in the latest round of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, The Guardian reports. Mark Lowcock, the U.N.’s humanitarian chief, confirmed that a Thursday airstrike killed 22 children and four women “trying to escape the fighting in the Durayhimi district,” and said a second airstrike in the same area killed four children. Lowcock said he was concerned about the airstrikes’ proximity to humanitarian sites, and called for an “impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these most recent incidents” in Yemen. Two weeks ago, an estimated 29 school children under the age of 15 were killed after an airstrike hit a school bus that was traveling through a market in the Sa’ada province. Another 48 people were injured in the strike, including 30 children. The Saudi-led coalition has accused the “Iranian-aligned Houthi group in Yemen” of using children as human shields, and maintained the strike on Aug. 9 was “carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
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