Yemen: Eryani Accuses Houthis of Recruiting 23k Children

Houthis ride in the back of a vehicle during their withdrawal from Saleef port in Hodeidah (Reuters)
Houthis ride in the back of a vehicle during their withdrawal from Saleef port in Hodeidah (Reuters)
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Yemen: Eryani Accuses Houthis of Recruiting 23k Children

Houthis ride in the back of a vehicle during their withdrawal from Saleef port in Hodeidah (Reuters)
Houthis ride in the back of a vehicle during their withdrawal from Saleef port in Hodeidah (Reuters)

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said that the Houthi militia recruited more than 23,000 children, according to the latest statistics.

The exploitation of children under 18 years of age by Houthis is the bloodiest and most tragic among this militia's crimes. Dozens of international reports tackled how the Houthis dragged the children by force from their houses to brainwashed and trained them before bringing them back in coffins, he added.

The terrorist attack against Aramco and Houthi attempts to claim responsibility for it and cover up for the real perpetrator reaffirm that the main target of Houthis is to implement Iranian agendas in Yemen, the Yemeni minister noted.

On the sidelines of the 42nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the Iranian regime is using its arms in the region to run its subversive policy for the sake of pressuring and blackmailing the world, enhancing its negotiation stance, lifting intentional sanctions, accomplishing its political and economic goals, and imposing its expansionary plot in the region.

This will not be allowed by Arab countries no matter what, he affirmed.

During five years of war, Houthis committed all kinds of crimes and violations against civilians disregarding the international regulations that ban using civilians for fighting purposes, the minister decried.

Eryani pointed out that since the coup the Houthis have been occupying the state institutions and the public facilities such as universities schools, hospitals, health centers, mosques, and sports clubs. They transformed them into barracks and headquarters to train members and store weapons.

Houthis tend to implant landmines randomly in order to compensate for the shortage in fighters and block the advance of the Yemeni Army to liberate the remaining provinces.



EU Looking at Options for Boosting Lebanon's Internal Security Forces

Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo 
Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo 
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EU Looking at Options for Boosting Lebanon's Internal Security Forces

Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo 
Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo 

The European Union is studying options for strengthening Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) to help free up the Lebanese army to focus on disarming the armed group Hezbollah, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday.

A 2024 truce between Lebanon and Israel remains fragile, with Israel carrying out regular strikes on Lebanese territory that it says are targeting Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm.

The document, produced by the EU’s diplomatic arm and circulated to the 27 member states, said it would pursue consultations with Lebanese authorities and that a scoping mission would take place in early 2026 on possible new assistance for the country’s ISF.

EU efforts could “focus on advice, training and capacity-building,” the paper said, adding that the bloc would not take over the tasks of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate is set to expire at the end of 2026, when it is expected to begin a year-long drawdown and withdrawal.

Instead, the EU “could contribute to the gradual transfer of internal security tasks” from the Lebanese Armed Forces to the ISF, allowing the army to focus on its core defense tasks, the document said.

The UN secretary general is expected to produce a transition plan in June 2026 that will address risks stemming from UNIFIL’s departure.

The paper from the European External Action Service comes ahead of a planned meeting between senior EU and Lebanese officials in Brussels on December 15.

“Through a combination of advice, training and possibly the provision of certain equipment, the overall objective would be to enable the Police and the Gendarmerie to fulfil their mandates in cities and rural areas across the country,” it said, adding the EU could also help Lebanon to better secure its land border with Syria.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s special envoy on Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, was in Beirut on Monday to propose a roadmap that aims to assess independently Hezbollah’s disarmament, diplomatic sources told Reuters.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said last week that Lebanon wanted to see a ceasefire monitoring mechanism play a more robust role in verifying Israel's claims that Hezbollah is rearming as well as the work of the Lebanese army in dismantling the armed group's infrastructure.

Asked whether that meant Lebanon would accept US and French troops on the ground as part of a verification mechanism, Salam said, “of course.”

 

 


Alimi to Ambassadors: STC’s Unilateral Actions Threaten Stability in Yemen

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi. (Saba news agency)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi. (Saba news agency)
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Alimi to Ambassadors: STC’s Unilateral Actions Threaten Stability in Yemen

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi. (Saba news agency)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi. (Saba news agency)

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi said on Monday the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) actions in eastern provinces in recent days undermine the legitimate government and the country’s security.

He met in Riyadh with ambassadors of countries that are sponsoring Yemen’s political process to brief them on the latest developments. Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik was also present at the meeting.

Saudi Arabia has maintained intense efforts to restore calm in wake of the developments. Alimi hailed Riyadh’s “responsible role in sponsoring” the efforts in the Hadhramaut province, including reaching an agreement that would secure oil facilities and prevent the eruption of open clashes.

He lamented that the efforts were being undermined by the STC’s unilateral actions that have stoked tensions and mistrust, reported official media.

The STC’s actions are a “flagrant violation of the references of the transitional phase and a direct threat to the unity of military decision-making,” he warned.

He told the ambassadors that the “partnership with the international community is not limited to provision of aid, but also a joint responsibility in protecting the idea of the state, supporting its legitimate institutions and preventing the establishment of parallel authorities.”

Alimi warned of the economic consequences and negative impact on livelihoods, especially in Hadhramaut and al-Mahra, in wake of the STC’s actions, which could also lead to a loss of trust by donors in the legitimate government.

He called for a “unified, clear and frank international stance that rejects the unilateral measures and underscores a full commitment to the transitional phase and supports the legitimate government as the sole executive authority that can protect Yemen’s higher interests.”

The country and people cannot withstand the reopening of new battlefronts, he warned. “The real battle remains focused on restoring state institutions and ending the coup by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias,” he stressed.

The PLC and government remain committed to the state and people and regional and international partnerships, led by Saudi Arabia that has long come to the aid of the Yemeni people, he declared.


Israeli Military Says It Struck Hezbollah Sites in Southern Lebanon

Smoke billows over the village of Aaichiyeh after Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, October 20, 2025. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Smoke billows over the village of Aaichiyeh after Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, October 20, 2025. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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Israeli Military Says It Struck Hezbollah Sites in Southern Lebanon

Smoke billows over the village of Aaichiyeh after Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, October 20, 2025. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Smoke billows over the village of Aaichiyeh after Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, October 20, 2025. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it struck infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in several areas in southern Lebanon, including what it described as a training compound used by the armed group's Radwan forces.

Military structures and a launch site belonging to Hezbollah were also hit in the attacks, the military added in a statement.

The strikes come less than a week after Israel and Lebanon both sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, a step towards a months-old US demand that the two countries broaden talks in line with President Donald Trump's Middle East peace agenda.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 that ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Since then, they have traded accusations over violations.

Lebanon's state news agency, NNA, reported that Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes targeting several places in the south.