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.
