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.”
١-مشهد لمئات الأطفال في عمر الزهور اقتادتهم مليشيا الحوثي من منازلهم ومقاعد وفصول الدراسة لتزج بهم في أحد معسكراتها التدريبية تحت غطاء "المراكز الصيفية"، وكيف يجري تزييف وعيهم ومسخ هويتهم وتفخيخ عقولهم بالأفكار الطائفية المتطرفة المستوردة من إيران، وحشدهم للتوجه إلى جبهات القتال
— معمر الإرياني (@ERYANIM)
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.
