LONDON: Yemen’s minister of human rights Dr. Mohammed Askar revealed that Houthi militias backed by Iran are using children to plant mines in areas that they are being expelled from. He also said that they are planting bombs in houses, hospitals, and places of worship, threatening civilians.
Askar explained that Houthi militias used different types of mines, including anti-personnel mines which are banned in residential areas and are very dangerous, and camouflaged and improvised mines.
The Houthi militias have also invented new ways of using anti-vehicle mines and transforming them so that they can be used as anti-personnel mines with the intention of killing and injuring as many people as possible.
He added that Houthi militias have exploited the difficult economic and social conditions and the complex tribal nature of Yemen to attract and recruit children.
Many families send their children to join the Houthis in exchange for 50,000 Yemeni riyals ($150) in order to fulfil their daily needs, especially in large families.
Houthis are also carrying out campaigns to religiously mobilize children in Saudi where students are given weekly lessons on the benefits of war.
Yemen's Houthi militias use children to plant mines in liberated areas: minister
Yemen's Houthi militias use children to plant mines in liberated areas: minister
- Yemen’s minister of human rights revealed that Houthi militias backed by Iran are using children to plant mines in areas that they are being expelled from.
- Askar explained that Houthi militias used different types of mines, including anti-personnel mines which are banned in residential areas and are very dangerous, and camouflaged and improvised mines.
US makes plans to reopen embassy in Syria after 14 years
- The administration has been considering re-opening the embassy since last year
- Trump told reporters on Friday that Al-Sharaa was “doing a phenomenal job” as president
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to proceed with planning for a potential re-opening of the US Embassy in Damascus, Syria, which was shuttered in 2012 during the country’s civil war.
A notice to congressional committees earlier this month, which was obtained by The Associated Press, informed lawmakers of the State Department’s “intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume embassy operations in Syria.”
The Feb. 10 notification said that spending on the plans would begin in 15 days, or next week, although there was no timeline offered for when they would be complete or when US personnel might return to Damascus on a full-time basis.
The administration has been considering re-opening the embassy since last year, shortly after longtime strongman Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024, and it has been a priority for President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack.
Barrack has pushed for a deep rapprochement with Syria and its new leadership under former rebel Ahmad Al-Sharaa and has successfully advocated for the lifting of US sanctions and a reintegration of Syria into the regional and international communities.
Trump told reporters on Friday that Al-Sharaa was “doing a phenomenal job” as president. “He’s a rough guy. He’s not a choir boy. A choir boy couldn’t do it,” Trump said. “But Syria’s coming together.”
Last May, Barrack visited Damascus and raised the US flag at the embassy compound, although the embassy was not yet re-opened.
The same day the congressional notification was sent, Barrack lauded Syria’s decision to participate in the coalition that is combating the Daesh militant group, even as the US military has withdrawn from a small, but important, base in the southeast and there remain significant issues between the government and the Kurdish minority.
“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-Daesh Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” Barrack said.
The embassy re-opening plans are classified and the State Department declined to comment on details beyond confirming that the congressional notification was sent.
However, the department has taken a similar “phased” approach in its plans to re-open the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, following the US military operation that ousted former President Nicolás Maduro in January, with the deployment of temporary staffers who would live in and work out of interim facilities.
