Houthis continue to indoctrinate Yemeni children

The Houthis have begun annual summer camps in Yemen’s regions under the movement’s control, urging parents to allow their children to travel to the locations for their education.

Critics of the Iran-backed Houthis argue that the main goals of the camps are to brainwash and enlist Yemeni youngsters.

Houthi officials have initiated summer programs in schools and other locations, from Hodeidah in the west to capital Sanaa, along with other areas.

Children as young as 10 have been standing in lines to receive instruction in religious teachings and identity from Houthis. The camps are reported to teach children to revere Houthi leaders and despise the Yemeni government.

Yemeni rights groups also joined the chorus condemning Houthi indoctrination centers and calling for the immediate rescue of children.

The UN Panel of Experts said in March that hundreds of Yemeni children had been recruited into Houthi summer camps, and that the movement was employing both compulsion and intimidation to draw youngsters to its camps.

The movement says it intends to attract more than 1 million to its camps. Yemeni journalists, activists, and human rights groups have expressed outrage at the calls to join the camps, arguing that the Houthis use them to indoctrinate children and provide them with military training prior to fighting government forces.