ABUSE ONLY ONE TOOL HOUTHIS USE TO RECRUIT CHILD SOLDIERS

▶ Children rehabilitated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre tell how they were kidnapped, raped and blackmailed into fighting by the Iran-backed militia

Children conscripted to fight for Houthi rebels in Yemen have been subjected to sexual abuse and indoctrinated to believe it was their Islamic duty to fight the pro-government forces, a Saudi aid organisation has said.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre opened a rehabilitation centre for former child soldiers in Marib province this year, in co-operation with a local partner, Wethaq Civic Foundation.

So far, 161 children have successfully completed the programme, said Najeeb Al Sadi, director of the centre. The project wants to eventually reach more than 2,000 children, most of them in Marib, Al Jawf, Taez, Sanaa, Amran and Hodeidah.

“About 16 per cent of these children that have come to the facility in Marib have said they were exposed to sexual assault by Houthi officials along the fronts or other, older fighters,” Mr Al Sadi said.

The project offers psychological and educational rehabilitation to former child soldiers and war-affected children.

It does so “in a manner that facilitates their reintegration into society, in addition to targeting school re-enrolment, which they were forced to abandon due to being used in the war by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia”, the charity said.

Mr Al Sadi said the centre’s staff was qualified to deal with children who had been traumatised, and it included psychologists and teachers.

“They learn the same lessons as they would have by attending a public school, and we also have psychologists to treat the children and figure out how they ended up fighting with the Houthis,” he said.

Mr Al Sadi also estimated that nearly 12,000 children had been recruited by Houthi rebels in the northern provinces. He said 70 per cent of the child fighters were under the age of 15.

Many children recounted stories of their schools being stormed by the Iran-backed group, and many were transported to battlefronts without their parents’ knowledge, he said.

“They’ve told us stories about being raped and the rapes being videotaped, which would then be used to blackmail the children to make sure they don’t escape from the front,” Mr Al Sadi said. “Other stories included being forced to undertake difficult tasks, such as executing injured Yemeni soldiers.”

Recorded accounts and statements of children, heard and seen by The National, outline how some of the minors were taken to the front lines.

One child soldier identified as Sadiq, 15, said he was given drugs – including the stimulant qat – and forced to join the rebels to support his family.

“I was responsible for my family,” Sadiq said in a written statement.

“My father is sick and unemployed, and we don’t have any source of income. The only thing I could do was join the Houthis, so I reluctantly did.

“I left school when I was in the third grade and the Houthis took us to start digging trenches, after which they start training us on how to blow up opponents’ residences.”

Another former child fighter, 14, who used the pseudonym Abdul Fatah, said he was taken by force by the militia from his home in Haja province.

“Houthis stormed my school and made the principal list our names to be conscripted,” Abdul Fatah said by phone.

“I ran home but they chased me. They took me from my home as my mother was crying and begging them to leave me alone.

“When I arrived at the front to start digging trenches, I refused. I was hit on the head and was unconscious for a while.

“I woke up in a Houthi official’s shack and he started to act strangely.

“The Houthi official called over another militia member and told him that he’s going to rape me and record it.”

Abdel Fatah said that he had no choice but to remain with the Houthi rebels and fight.

“They said they would send the video to all my friends, and I gave in,” he said.

The Arab Coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia and the UAE, intervened in the Yemen war in March 2015 at the request of the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to restore its power and push back the rebels after they took control of the capital, Sanaa.

The Houthi official called over another militia member and told him that he’s going to rape me and record it ABDUL FATAH Former child soldier