(A), 13

January 15, 2023

Sanah, Al-Dhalea Governorate

The perpetrator of the violation

Security Belt Forces in Al-Dhalea

Findings

Since he was recruited, he has been working on transporting supplies from the Glass Camp to the
security checkpoint in Sanah area and other security points on the road in Qa’atabah area.

The criterion for selecting the case

because the party that recruited him attracts displaced children and workers in the markets, taking
advantage of their economic situation after his family’s displacement from their hometown to the
displacement camp.

Summary of the incident

After the Houthi group took over the Al-Oud area in Al-Dhalea, (A)’s family was displaced to the residential city in Sanah, Al-Dhalea area, and the child began selling ice cream because of his family’s financial situation after the displacement. (A) dropped out of school, as he was studying in 6th grade.
“Rasd Coalition” interviewed his father and two of the child’s neighbors. The witness, (O), said, “The child,
(A), was working in selling ice cream in the Sanah, Al-Dhalea market after he and his family were displaced
and left school. The commander of the Sanah checkpoint of the Security Belt Forces attracted him and
promised him an amount of one hundred thousand riyals to recruit him with SBF.” After his enrollment, he underwent an educational course in the camp for forty days. He worked in transporting food supplies from the Security Belt camp in the Glass area to the security belt checkpoint in Sanah.
The witness added that the child was also asked to monitor the displaced from the northern governorates
residing in Sanah area, to report their movements, and to inform the camp officials of that. He goes on to say that the child does his job of transporting supplies during the day and then returns to his home in the
evening and that his father suffers from a deteriorating economic situation due to his displacement, so he did not object to recruiting his child, who continued until the date of our interview with the witnesses on April 12, 2023.

Recommendations: The Security Belt forces should stop recruiting displaced children and stop exploiting the economic conditions of their families to recruit them. They should also release the child from service, rehabilitate him and integrate him into society.