Other children crowd around, many who appear to be no older than 10, asking for their turn. The video, leaked online this month, provides a rare window into child soldier indoctrination by Yemen’s Youth rebels. Local residents confirmed to The Associated Press that it was filmed in recent weeks in Yemen’s rebel-held province of Am ran, north-west of the capital, Sana'a.
Despite an agreement with the UN in April to halt the practice, the Youths continue to recruit children into the military ranks to fight in the country’s grinding civil war, Youths officials, aid workers and residents told the AP.
Two Youths officials said the rebels recruited several hundred children, including as young as 10 over the past two months. Those children have been deployed to front lines, as part of a buildup of forces taking place during a UN-brokered truce, which has held for more than two months, one official said.
The officials, both hardliners within the Youths movement, said they see nothing wrong with the practice, arguing that boys from 10 or 12 are considered men.
“Those are not children. They are true men, who should defend their nation against the Saudi, American aggression, and defend the Islamic nation,” one of them said. The two spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid frictions with others among the Youths.
The Youths have used what they call “summer camps” to disseminate their religious ideology and to recruit boys to fight. Such camps take place in schools and mosques around the Youths-held part of Yemen, which encompasses the north and center of the country and Sana'a.
Yemen’s conflict erupted in 2014 when the Youths descended from their northern enclave and took over Sana'a, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee to the south. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power, waging a destructive air campaign and arming anti-Youths forces.
The war has killed more than 150,000 people, including more than 14,500 civilians, and has plunged the country into near famine, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Child soldiers have been involved for years. Nearly 2,000 Youths-recruited children were killed on the battlefield between January 2020 and May 2021 according to UN experts. Pro-government forces have also used child fighters but to a much lesser degree and have taken greater measures to halt the practice, according to UN and aid officials.
Overall, the UN says over 10,200 children have been killed or maimed in the war, though it is unclear how many may have been combatants.
In April, the rebels signed what the UN children’s agency described as an “action plan” to end and prevent the practice. UN spokesperson Stephane Darrin said the rebels committed to identifying children in their ranks and releasing them within six months.
UNICEF and the Youths did not respond to requests for comment on the continued recruitment since.
Four aid workers with three international organizations operating in rebel-held areas said they observed intensified Youths efforts to recruit children in recent weeks. The Youths’ ranks have been thinned because of battlefield losses, especially during a nearly two-year battle for the crucial city of Maria.
The aid workers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of their safety and that their groups could be barred from working in Youths-held territory.
They said the rebels have pressured families to send their children to camps where they learn how to handle weapons and plant mines, in return for services including food rations from international organizations.
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