Yemeni Brotherhood: Falling into the quagmire of depravity and abjection

Ahmed Adel

Since emerging in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate, Brotherhood members have resorted to kidnapping children as a means of revenge, settling scores and blackmailing their relatives opposed to the Brotherhood’s militia project, although international law criminalizes harming children and involving them in political events.

Shabwa has witnessed grave violations committed by the Brotherhood militias, while human rights and humanitarian organizations have kept silent. The terrorist group has a black record in child abuse crimes, similar to crimes committed by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.

Most recently, militias affiliated with the Brotherhood kidnapped a number of children as part of a campaign they launched in the Mayfa’a district of Shabwa. Earlier in July, 16 children under the age of 15 in the district were kidnapped in raids without any legal justification.

It was previously revealed that the formation of the Brotherhood’s al-Forsan militia in Marib governorate included children under the age of 17.

On Saturday, July 11, the website Arab Scene reported that it had obtained pictures of the children recruited by the Brotherhood. The group sought to involve them in its projects of chaos and sabotage, taking advantage of their young age to stuff their minds with poisoned ideas.

The most heinous crime occurred in Taiz governorate, where Amnesty International revealed that children were being raped in prisons, as the Brotherhood has 18 secret prisons in the governorate.

The human rights organization accused the Brotherhood’s militias of committing war crimes, as Amnesty’s research conducted showed that young children, some only the age of eight, were raped by members of militias affiliated with the Islah party.

In February, Islah militias stormed a fuel station in Mayfa’a and kidnapped the child, Awad bin Ahmed bin Awad bin Rashid, brother of Aseel bin Rashid, head of the youth and students department in the local leadership of the Southern Transitional Council in Shabwa.

In June, Yemeni political activist Rabee bin Muqalam al-Khulaifi called for saving Shabwa’s children from death in the ranks of the Brotherhood militias.

“Shabwa’s children die in absurd wars by the Brotherhood in Shabwa. Crimes against childhood and human values and morals,” Khulaifi tweeted.