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Both sides in Yemen’s war use child soldiers

Child soldiers fighting on the frontline in Yemen

Aden has become a theatre of bloody urban warfare as Houthi rebels and backers of president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi battle for control of the city in southern Yemen. Since fighting first broke out in mid-March, several amateur videos have surfaced showing child soldiers battling on the frontline on both sides.

These striking images were filmed at night and posted on YouTube on March 31. They show youths battling Shiite Houthi rebels in the streets of Aden, a port city located around 500 km south of the capital Sanaa. One of our Observers on the ground confirmed that teenagers aged between 15 to 17 years old were fighting in the ranks of so-called “popular committees”, paramilitary units that back the country’s beleaguered president.