Washington accuses the Houthis of recruiting children, brainwashing them, and sending them to the fighting fronts

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Acting US Ambassador to Yemen, Neil Hope, accused the Houthi group of recruiting children and indoctrinating them with its ideological ideas, then sending them to the fighting fronts, calling for the protection of Yemeni children from military exploitation.

Hope said, in a video message, that Yemeni children “deserve a real childhood, not being brainwashed and brought into the Houthi sect based on death,” referring to what he described as the group’s practices against children.

The American diplomat accused the Houthi leader, whom he described as "Khomeini's tail," of reproducing the same history in Yemen. Warning that “the group’s practices deprive an entire generation of their childhood and put their lives and future in danger.”

He said: "Children deserve to live their childhood instead of being brainwashed" and thrown into what he described as "Houthi death crematoriums."

The American official pointed out that the Houthis snatch children from their schools and send them to the battle fronts, warning that recruiting them exposes them to kidnapping and psychological trauma and leaves long-term effects on their lives.

He pointed out that the children whom the group is pushing to fight are not "children of Houthi leaders." He said that they are the children of Yemeni families, which he described as "innocent", and whom he said the group calls "hares."

This comes in light of human rights reports that documented the Houthis’ recruitment of children and their use in combat operations.

Amnesty International had warned in previous reports against the recruitment of children in Yemen and sending them to the front lines.