Houthis Promise US Visas to Would-be Fighters
That’s funny. The “Death to America” chanting Houthis promised these kids a US visa as an inducement to join the rebellion. However, one of the most disturbing things about the Sa’ada War is its impact on Yemen’s children. It is being fought on both sides by children. There are about 100,000 internal refugees in Sa’ada, statistically that would be 70,000 kids. Furthermore child malnutrition in Sa’ada has reached crisis level because of the government’s blockade on food shipments. And a survey around the governorate of 700,000 found 90% of children had personally witnessed the fighting. Of the thousands of unaffiliated people who were jailed because of the war, many are children (see post below.)
We were promised to travel to US, say rebels
SANA’A, June 04 (Saba) – The rebels who have handed themselves in to the Yemeni authorities at the district of Bani Husheish claim the loyalists of Abdul Malik al-Houthi told them they can travel to the US if they fight the government forces.The Saba-run alsiysiah newspaper quoted the surrendered as saying they were also informed they would enter paradise if they were killed.
They said the Houthi loyalists came to them while chewing Qat and distributed publications and CDs inciting a rebellion against the government.
They said many of the rebels who fought the troops were youths who left school and their posts after the Houthi loyalists incited them against the government. They have expressed their regret for fighting the forces and called on the rest rebels to hand themselves in.
Sa’ada, A war fought on both sides by children
