Rebel officers ordered them to push forward during battles, even as coalition jets zoomed overhead, he said. Others are sent to the front lines as foot soldiers.Ī 13-year-old named Riyadh said half of the fighters he served with on the front lines in Yemen’s mountainous Sirwah district were children. Many can be seen manning checkpoints along main roads across northern and western Yemen, AK-47s dangling from their narrow shoulders. But others described being forced into the service of the Houthis - abducted from schools or homes or coerced into joining in exchange for a family member’s release from detention. Some of the children told the AP they joined the rebels willingly, mainly because of promises of money or the chance to carry a weapon. The Houthis say officially that they don’t recruit children and send away those who try to enlist. The United Nations was able to verify 2,721 children recruited to fight for all sides in the conflict, the large majority for the Houthis, but officials say that count is likely low, because many families will not speak about the issue out of fear of reprisals from Houthi militiamen. That figure is higher than any number previously reported. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The Houthis have inducted 18,000 child soldiers into their rebel army since the beginning of the war in 2014, a senior Houthi military official acknowledged to the AP. ![]() While both sides in the four-year civil war have sent children into combat in violation of international human rights conventions, the Houthis are believed to have recruited many more than the coalition - often forcibly. Mohammed was among 18 former child soldiers interviewed by The Associated Press who described the Houthis’ unrelenting efficiency when it comes to the recruitment, deployment and even battlefield deaths of boys as young as 10. Their experiences in combat, including seeing bodies of the dead and charging into battle as missiles explode, have left many of the boys traumatized. The Houthi rebels have enlisted some 18,000 child fighters over the course of the 4-year-old civil war, according to one Houthi official. Boys recite poems during a session at a rehabilitation center for former child soldiers in Marib, Yemen, in this July 25, 2018, photo.
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