Al Houthis using ‘20,000 kids as human shields’

Manama: Al Houthi militia groups have committed grave crimes by recruiting more 20,000 Yemeni children to use as armed weapons and human shields, a senior Saudi official said, citing reports from human rights organisations.

“As we all condemn such despicable acts, we must urgently move forward to prevent such actions, and to hold those behind them accountable for violating the rights of these children,” Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) and adviser at the Royal Court, said.

The official was speaking at a high-level meeting in Riyadh on Sunday to boost the humanitarian response in war-torn Yemen.

Around 300 major stakeholders, including ministers, UN officials, and other delegates attended the meeting.

“KSRelief calls upon you all to participate in its initiative to rehabilitate these children. We are in the process of helping more than 2,000 children in this project, providing psychological, educational, social and family rehabilitation services. We should work together to expand this project to include all children who have had their innocence stolen from them,” Al Rabeeah said.

The Saudi official called for the decentralisation of humanitarian work by increasing the number of offices in different locations in Yemen.

“We all support the initiative of the UN envoy to Yemen regarding the Hodeida port and Sana’a airport to increase the efficiency of humanitarian work.

To ensure that we can save the lives of the Yemeni people, we must use other available points of access in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is pleased to provide access to Jazan port, and also land access, to facilitate the delivery of aid and relief. The kingdom is committed to supporting and delivering humanitarian aid to all regions of Yemen. We should also increase focus on projects for women and children,” he said.

Al Rabeeah added that the first Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, held under the patronage of King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, will be held from February 24 to 26 next year.

“The forum will focus on the development of international humanitarian work,” he said.

In his speech, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdul Malek Al Mikhlafi said the humanitarian challenges included poor coordination between UN and the legitimate government.

As he thanked KSRelief for “all the humanitarian aid it provided for our country during this tough phase in Yemen’s history”, he said a major challenge was Al Houthis’ obstruction tactics.

“We must expel Al Houthis from Hodeida port to prevent the smuggling of weapons and to efficiently distribute relief aid in Yemen,” he said.