Sana’a: A Yemeni minister with the internationally recognised government on Tuesday accused the country’s rebels of forcing children to fight in Yemen’s civil war, saying the rebels have recruited as many as 4,800 boys over the past six months.
Human Rights Minister Ezz Al Deen Al Asbahi also said Al Houthis have killed about 1,000 civilians in the two-year conflict, and that more than 300 children have died — either because of gunfire or rockets.
Speaking from Cairo, Al Asbahi said an estimated 3,000 people have been detained by the rebels in areas under their control and that there are some 70 cases of torture inside Al Houthi-controlled prisons.
His accounts and figures could not be independently verified in the war-torn country, the Arab world’s poorest, but both the Al Houthis and to a lesser extent, the pro-government southern fighters, have been known to recruit children to their cause.
Al Houthi media official Abdul Rahman Al Ahnoumi denied the accusations and told The Associated Press that Al Asbahi’s statement was an attempt to “mislead” the international public opinion.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified in Yemen since Monday outside the capital, Sana’a, between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government backed by the Saudi-led coalition, and Al Houthis, according to military and medical officials.
The focus of the battle is the mountainous town of Sarwah, east of the capital, where pro-government forces aim to break a months-long stalemate and clear the way towards Sana’a. Al Houthis seized Sana’a in 2014.
The officials said heavy aerial bombardment on the border area of Midi, northwest of Sana’a, killed and wounded dozens of fighters. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has waged an air campaign aiming at dislodging Al Houthis from cities under their control.
A year later, Yemen is virtually split between the northern region, under Al Houthi control, and the southern region, under the control of local fighters aligned to the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The US-backed coalition and the Yemeni government are seeking to expand areas under their control as a way to press Al Houthis to accept a peace deal that involves their withdrawal from cities and the handover of heavy weapons in return for a power-sharing deal.
The escalation of the fighting follows the collapse of the last round of the UN peace talks in August.
