60,000 potential terrorists: Houthis brainwash Yemeni children, send them into line of fire

Mahmoud Mohammadi

In the midst of a war ignited by the Houthis in Yemen, the terrorist militia is surrounded by international and human rights accusations about its recruitment of children in battles, as they have messed with the minds of more than 35,000 children since 2014, 17% of whom are under the age of eleven.

During Yemen’s speech during a high-level meeting on the protection of children in armed conflict, which was held under the auspices of the European Union, Belgium and Niger, Marwan Noman, Deputy Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, said that the Houthi militia has recruited more than 35,000 children since 2014, including 17% under the age of 11, while more than 6,700 children are still fighting on the Houthi fronts.

Schools and mosques

According to the Yemeni News Agency, Noman stressed that the danger lies in the Houthi militia’s use of schools, mosques and summer camps to brainwash at least 60,000 children, train them and send them to the fighting fronts.

He pointed out that the Houthis are distorting the curricula printed in their areas of control, which threatens to create an entire generation of extremists, explaining that the matter has another dimension, as Houthi snipers are taking the lives of Yemeni children on a daily basis in the city of Taiz, which has been suffering from a suffocating siege by the Houthis for seven years.

Noman called on the international community to take immediate action to stop the Houthi crimes against children, noting that the Yemeni government is working to protect children and alleviate their suffering from Houthi violations.

US warning

US Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking warned last week during his meeting with Yemeni Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani that the Houthi militia’s recruitment of children and the military escalation constitute practices that undermine peace efforts.

Lenderking made it clear during the meeting hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that Washington’s position supports peace in order to reach a permanent agreement to stop the war in a manner that preserves Yemen’s unity, security and stability, and in cooperation with the efforts of the UN envoy to Yemen. He stressed the desire of the United States to help Yemen and build lasting peace by making all contacts with the concerned countries in order for the Houthis to stop all military operations.

In turn, Burkani affirmed his country’s appreciation of the clear US role against the Houthis, who are obstructing peace efforts and continuing the military escalation in various Yemeni provinces.

Burkani pointed out that the Houthis target cities and ports and divert stores of relief and humanitarian supplies in a blatantly hostile manner, stressing that constantly targeting civilians and population centers undermines international efforts to bring peace and provides clear evidence that the Iranian-backed militia constitutes a tool for death, destruction and igniting wars.