At least 14 children were killed in a blast near a school in Yemen, the UN’s children agency reported on Tuesday.
Another 16 children, most of whom are under nine years old, were critically injured and are now in hospitals “fighting for their lives”, Unicef said.
The attack occurred near two schools in Sanaa at lunch time, when students were in class.
“The blast shattered the windows and unleashed a burst of shrapnel and broken glass into the classrooms,” the UN agency said.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels accused the Saudi-led military coalition of carrying out an airstrike.
The coalition denied conducting any air raids on the capital on Sunday, according to reports.
“It is hard to imagine the sheer horror that those children experienced – and the sheer horror and guilt parents may feel for having done what every parent aspires to – sending their children to school,” said Geert Cappelaere, Unicef regional director for the Middle East and north Africa.
Just two weeks ago four children were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a remote hospital in Yemen.
The attacks come as the devastating conflict enters its fifth year, which the UN says has left at least 10,000 dead, displaced more than three million people, and left most of the population facing food shortages.
The civil war pits Houthi rebels – who control northern Yemen – against the Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognised government.
UN experts have accused both sides of committing war crimes.
Unicef said it was providing the affected children and their families with psychosocial support and financial assistance to cover medical treatment.
