Human Rights Reports: Unprecedented Escalation In Recruiting Children In The Houthi Control Areas

SMA NEWS – GENEVA
Human rights reports revealed a dangerous escalation in the recruitment of children in the areas of the Houthi militia control, where the number of recruits reached record levels amid the militia exploitation of schools and summer courses as major platforms to attract children and attach them to the fighting fronts.

According to Human Rights, the militia uses more than 700 schools as training and recruitment centers, under the direct supervision of the Houthi Ministry of Defense and Education, which made educational institutions in areas controlled by the most dangerous places for children, rather than being a safe environment for education.

Reports indicated that recruitment operations are carried out in multiple methods, where students are lured through classrooms, and they are subject to extensive sectarian sessions, and then send them to the fronts of the fight Recruiting them.

Houthi recruitment campaigns were not limited to males only, but also extended to young girls, as the militia cost school principals to nominate 10 students from each school to attach them to the “Zinbiyat” teams, which are used in sectarian espionage and mobilization operations.

Observers warn that the continuation of these practices will lead to a future catastrophe, as a whole generation of children is converted into soldiers in sectarian militia projects, in a flagrant violation of international laws and child rights agreements.

Experts believe that international silence towards these crimes encourage the militia to persist in its violations, which requires serious action by the international community and human rights organizations to stop these crimes and save children from the quagmire of war and extremism.