Yemeni minister slams Houthi militias’ recruitment of child soldiers

Yemeni fighters leave after clashes with Houthi rebels on the Kassara front line near Marib, Yemen, June 20, 2021. (AP)
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  • In a tweet on Sunday, Yemen's Information Minister slammed the continued militarization of children and warned of the dangerous consequences for future generations

DUBAI: Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani has condemned the use of thousands of child soldiers by Iran-backed Houthi militias.

In a tweet on Sunday, he slammed the continued militarization of children and warned of the dangerous consequences for future generations.

Al-Eryani said the Houthis were “depriving children in their areas of control of their right to education, play, and normal life while using them as fuel for their battles to serve the ambitions of Iran.”

 

 

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and the SAM for Rights and Liberties organizations said in a recent report that the Houthis had forcibly recruited 10,300 children in Yemen since 2014 and called for urgent action to address the issue.

The report, titled “Militarizing Childhood,” highlighted the Houthis’ use of schools and educational facilities to recruit children.