Sanaa: Yemen’s renewed fighting is exposing children to a growing danger of recruitment by armed groups, as intensified clashes between Houthi forces and pro-government forces threaten to push the country back into a wider war.
Children drawn into a worsening conflict
A recent report has highlighted how poverty, social pressure and political loyalties are making children vulnerable to recruitment. In one case, a Houthi recruiter reportedly approached a 16-year-old boy in Sanaa and offered military training, a weapon and financial payment for joining the fighting in Marib. His father refused to allow him to go.
Authorities in Aden told Al Jazeera that 62 cases of child recruitment were documented in Houthi-controlled provinces during the second quarter of 2026. Officials said the figure could represent only a fraction of cases because many incidents remain unreported.
Poverty makes children more vulnerable
The recruitment of children is being fuelled by Yemen’s severe humanitarian crisis. More than half the country’s population does not have reliable access to sufficient food, while millions are facing emergency levels of food insecurity. For struggling families, even small payments associated with military service can become an economic temptation.
Experts also point to social and ideological pressures. In some communities, teenage boys may be regarded as old enough to carry weapons, while deaths within families can deepen feelings of revenge and encourage further mobilisation.
Long-term harm goes beyond the battlefield
The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties reported that 11,310 children were recruited or used across 19 Yemeni governorates between 2014 and 2023. Children have reportedly been involved in duties ranging from guarding and transporting ammunition to reconnaissance, mine-laying and direct combat.
Yemen’s government and the Houthis have both signed UN action plans aimed at preventing child recruitment. Human rights advocates say those commitments must now be backed by effective age verification, demobilisation, education and rehabilitation.
As fighting intensifies, protecting Yemen’s children remains an urgent humanitarian responsibility, regardless of which side controls the territory where they live.