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NGO Report Accuses Houthis of Violating Children Rights 66,000 Times

Boys carry a jerrycan filled with water from a cistern at a makeshift camp for displaced Yemenis in severe shortage of water in the northern Hajjah province, March 24, 2020. (AFP)
Boys carry a jerrycan filled with water from a cistern at a makeshift camp for displaced Yemenis in severe shortage of water in the northern Hajjah province, March 24, 2020. (AFP)
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NGO Report Accuses Houthis of Violating Children Rights 66,000 Times

Boys carry a jerrycan filled with water from a cistern at a makeshift camp for displaced Yemenis in severe shortage of water in the northern Hajjah province, March 24, 2020. (AFP)
Boys carry a jerrycan filled with water from a cistern at a makeshift camp for displaced Yemenis in severe shortage of water in the northern Hajjah province, March 24, 2020. (AFP)

A human rights report has revealed that Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have committed almost 66,000 crimes against children since the conflict broke out in 2015.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms said the Houthis perpetrated 65,971 offenses against minors in nearly four years since they started monitoring the militias’ activities.

The crimes took place between Jan. 1, 2015 and Aug. 30, 2019.

The rights group documented 3,888 deaths among children in Houthi-related attacks on civilian areas. The deaths were documented in 17 different Yemeni governorates and included 79 infants.

According to the report, 656 children were killed in Houthi shelling, 291 in landmine explosions, 467 in direct shootings and 412 as a result of deprivation of medical provisions.

It also documented 12 executions Houthis carried out against minors. Another eight children were tortured to death in Houthi prisons.

Some 1,721 minors were killed on different battlefronts after being recruited by the militias and used as cannon fodder.

The Taiz province topped the list with 896 child soldiers being killed, followed by Hajjah with 398, Amran with 377, Hodeidah with 362, the interim capital Aden with 276, Houthi-held Sanaa with 258, Saada with 249 and Dhale with 203.

The rights group likewise said that children were being forcefully recruited to Houthi ranks, with about 12,341 underage fighters still in their ranks.

As for injuries, the report documented 5,357 cases in which minors incurred injuries in 19 different governorates.

They were mainly wounded as a result of sniper fire and landmine explosions.

At least 321 children were permanently disabled by Houthi arbitrary targeting of civilian areas.

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Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The Red Cross raised alarm on Thursday at the growing use of drone attacks by warring parties on hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure in Sudan, which it said was contributing to widespread human rights violations.

Some 70-80% of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge due to damage caused by the war to water infrastructure, the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva.

"A recent drone attack stopped all the electricity provision in an area close to Khartoum, which means critical infrastructure is being damaged," said Patrick Youssef, the Red Cross's Regional Director for Africa, in a new report.

"There is a clear increased use of these technologies, drones - to be in the hands of everyone - which increases the impact on the local population and the intensity of attacks," Youssef said.

After two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, some people are returning to Khartoum after they were forced to flee when war broke out on April 15, 2023 amidst a ongoing power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.

Some 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 2023.

"We have seen violations of the law left, right and center,” Youssef said, urging the warring parties to allow the Red Cross access so it can offer humanitarian support and document atrocities.

In March, aid groups told Reuters that the RSF had placed new constraints on aid deliveries to territories where it was seeking to cement its control. Aid groups have also accused the army of denying or hindering access to RSF-controlled areas.

Both sides in the conflict deny impeding aid.