Outrage over the recent comments of a Houthi minister advocating the recruitment of children for the war in Yemen continued, with a minister from the legitimate government comparing the rebels to terrorists. Human rights minister in the legitimate cabinet Dr. Mohammed Askar told Asharq Al-Awsat: “I do not know what the difference is between organizations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS and between Houthi militias.”
“The United Nation must label these militants as terrorists,” he added. Last week, Houthi minister Hassan Zeid said that children must abandon their studies and join the battles raging in their countries. He went to so far as to say that the children will be able to sway the war in the militants’ favor.
This drew condemnation from UNICEF, whose regional media officer Juliette Touma expressed her deep concern over child recruitment. She told Asharq Al-Awsat that children belong in the classroom, not the battlefront.
Commenting further on Zeid’s statement, Askar said: “This is a crime of crimes. Most violations stem from such criminal demands.” He added that Zeid’s call will cost Yemen its future. “We are in constant contact with prisoners and their loved ones, as well as various civil society institutions, to urge them to stand against such calls,” he continued.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said: “These statements confirm that the Houthi insurgents are still recruiting children and exploiting them in their battles against Yemenis.” They have completely disregarded international laws and norms that bar the abuse of children, he continued.
He therefore called on the UN and international organizations to firmly intervene to pressure the Houthis in a manner that ensures that children are protected against the war.
Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched Sunday a series of airstrikes targeting the home village of the Houthi-allied former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the southeast of the capital Sanaa, said a security official. The airstrikes targeted the Jarban area in the village of Sanhan, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Local residents said the airstrikes targeted several sites, mountains and farms in the area. No casualties were reported, but dozens of residential houses near the targeted locations were slightly damaged.
The coalition has resumed military air campaign on surrounding military sites and in Sanaa over the past two days, nearly two months after the coalition halted the air strikes on Sanaa following Aug. 25 airstrike that killed 14 residents, including six children in the capital.
Meanwhile, the coalition continued air strikes on other rebels' bases across northern Yemen. Last week, Saleh was admitted to the hospital in Sanaa, where he had a successful operation performed by a Russian medical team, according to a statement by Saleh's General People's Congress party.
Saleh had narrowly survived an assassination attempt in his residence in 2011, amid all-out popular protests against him that eventually ended his 33-year rule. In September 2014, Saleh's loyal forces helped the Shiite Houthi rebels to seize control of Sanaa and much of the country's northern areas.
The United Nations Security Council later accused Saleh of obstructing Yemen's political peace and imposed financial sanctions and a global travel ban on him. The conflict has drawn in the Saudi-led Arab coalition in March 2015 to help the internationally recognized Yemeni government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi counter the Houthi-Saleh rebellion.
More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the two-and-half years of war with over 3 million others displaced, according to UN agencies. The country has also been hit by a deadly cholera epidemic and is now on the brink of mass famine.