SANA'A: A recent report published by the Seyaj Organization of Childhood Protection confirmed earlier findings from children's agencies such as UNICEF that children in Yemen were bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis, caught between a catastrophic humanitarian situation and military conflict. As often in such classic unrest, armed militias are using people's financial precariousness to enroll underage soldiers, as they represent a cheap and disposable commodity to their machine of war. And when families have nothing, mothers are willing to let go of their sons in the hope that the sacrifice of one would allow the others to stay alive. Desperation and misery is forcing Yemeni parents to do the unthinkable, feeding with their pain a system which preys on the weak. Seyaj told Bikyamasr.com that 40 percent of all new recruits were underage, with boys as young as 14 being enrolled and trained to fight. “Those kids have no idea what they're doing, nor do they necessarily share their commanders' political affiliation. What they think about is the $100 they will get at the end of the month to send to their family,” said a former recruiter. Promises were made back in June last year by the government and the tribes to demobilize the “child soldiers,” admitting that it was contrary to international conventions, but nothing to this day has been done on the ground, and many say quite the contrary. Sources close to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the man who now poses as the defender of the revolution, actively recruited young soldiers to support up his ranks upon the signature by President Ali Abdullah Saleh of the power-transfer back in November last year. “Mohsen fears armed reprisals against his troops and himself so he has intensified his recruitment program, authorizing his men to enroll under-age soldiers if they had to,” said one of the general's aids, under cover of anonymity. Residents in Sana'a reported that “boys of 15 or 16” were manning Republican Guards checkpoints. “We have seen this trend for the past year now; all sides are recruiting amongst the young as they are hoping to not only have more arms but also more loyalists. Those young men are easily manipulated and experience prove that when enrolled young a soldier is most likely to remain faithful and lay down his life for his superiors,” said a retired air force pilot. Human rights activists stressed that despite widespread condemnation it was very difficult for anyone to curb the phenomenon, as no legal provisions for such violations of a children's rights exist in Yemen. “All we can do is work with tribal leaders and the government to put an end to this practice, we have no incentive what so ever,” said one activist. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/IpzW3 Tags: Child Soldiers, Children, Conflict, featured Section: Human Rights, Latest News, Yemen
