Mass Funeral in Yemen’s Sanaa for Children Killed in Saudi Airstrike

Yemenis marched in the streets of Sanaa Wednesday, carrying small, flag-draped coffins. One was carried by a group of school children. Inside was one of their classmates, while the rest contained other children killed in Saudi airstrikes just outside the capital over the weekend, which hit two schools.

This was a very public mass funeral, after the airstrikes in Saewan District, which killed 14 children and wounded 16others. They were, according to the UN, girls under the age of nine.

Incidents of the Saudis attacking schools and hospitals have become increasingly common in recent months. This attack was embarrassing enough that the Saudis sought to dodge responsibility, suggesting it was a mysterious “explosion” at the schools as opposed to the bombing it actually was.

That the victims were small children is particularly galling, and was part of why Rep. Ted Lieu is pushing the Trump Administration on whether the US was involved in the attack, and whether the schools were on the no-strike list.