Yemen calls for international pressure against Houthi recruitment of child soldiers

Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani led the call on Friday, during International Children Day. (File/AFP)
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Updated 16 November 2021
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Yemen calls for international pressure against Houthi recruitment of child soldiers

  • Al-Eryani noted the Houthis have replaced mainstream education with “radicalization courses” imposed on “hundreds-of-thousands of children” to push them into battlefields.

DUBAI: Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani called on the international community to classify the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization and urged countries to pressure the group to stop recruiting children as soldiers, state news agency Saba News reported. 

To mark International Children's Day, Al-Eryani said: “We remember tens-of-thousands of Yemeni children that the militia has recruited, brainwashed their minds with sectarian terrorist ideology, subjected them to military training and deployed them to the frontlines as a service to the Iranian regime.”

Al-Eryani noted the Houthis have replaced mainstream education with “radicalization courses” imposed on “hundreds-of-thousands of children” to push them into battlefields.

He called on the international community to hold leaders and members of the group accountable and to prosecute them in international courts as war criminals.


Gaza mourns victims as bodies arrive at Al-Shifa hospital

Updated 9 sec ago
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Gaza mourns victims as bodies arrive at Al-Shifa hospital

GAZA: Palestinians gathered at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital on Tuesday to mourn loved ones killed in recent Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Four bodies were brought to the hospital from the Tuffah neighborhood following reported Israeli attacks.

Medical sources said the victims were killed in separate incidents in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said it was not aware of any operations in northern Gaza on Tuesday.

More than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the October ceasefire, amid repeated accusations of violations.
Under a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions behind a so-called "Yellow Line" in Gaza, though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
"Following the identification, the (Israeli air force) struck and eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat," the military said.
Media restrictions in Gaza and limited access to many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify casualty figures and details provided by either side.
The ceasefire has largely halted fighting between Israel and Hamas, but both sides have accused each other of violating its terms.

With agencies