Houthis recruit more than 2,000 child soldiers

Houthis and militias loyal to Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have recruited more than 2,000 children to within their ranks in the Dhamar province, according to Aden Ghad.

The child recruitment operation was led by Ahmed Al-Washly, well known for his ability to recruit and radicalise children into fighting for the militia forces.

In Yemen, recruitment of child soldiers is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon, especially within Houthi and Saleh militia forces. The UN estimates 72 per cent of child soldiers in Yemen are fighting for the Houthi.

Yemen, which is the Arab world’s poorest country, has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthi group overran its capital city Sana’a and other parts of the country.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.