VOA新闻杂志2022--Child Soldiers Still Recruited in Yemen

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Child Soldiers Still Recruited in Yemen

Houthi rebels in Yemen are reported to be recruiting child soldiers to fight in the country's civil war.

The rebels had promised to stop the practice as part of a truce¹ agreement reached with the United Nations in April.

However, hundreds of boys have been recruited in the weeks since the agreement was signed, reports Houthi representatives, aid workers and civilians².

A video released online shows a man teaching Yemeni children about the parts of a powerful military rifle.

Local residents confirmed to The Associated Press that the video was shot in the last several weeks in the rebel-held area of Amran.

Houthi officials said they see nothing wrong with the practice, arguing that boys from 10 or 12 are considered men.

These "are not children. They are true men, who should defend their nation against the Saudi, American aggression," one Houthi leader said. He spoke³ to the AP on the condition of anonymity⁴.

The Houthis have used what they call "summer camps" to teach religion and train in fighting. Such camps take place in schools and mosques⁶ in the Houthi-held areas of Yemen. Houthis hold areas of the north and center of the country, as well as the capital of Sanaa.

Yemen's conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis took over Sanaa. That forced the government to flee to the south. A Saudi-led military group entered the war in early 2015 to try to put the government back in power.

The war in Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian⁷ crises. It has killed more than 150,000 people, including more than 14,500 civilians. The country is in a near-famine.

Child soldiers have been involved for years. Nearly 2,000 Houthi-recruited children were killed on the battlefield between January 2020 and May 2021, U.N. experts say. Pro-government forces have also used child fighters but far fewer. U.N. aid officials say the government has also taken greater measures to end the practice.

Overall, the U.N. says over 10,200 children have been killed or wounded in the war. But it is unclear how many killed have been fighters.

In April, the rebels signed what the U.N. children's agency called an "action plan" to stop recruiting child soldiers. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rebels promised to identify children fighters and release them within six months.

Four aid workers with three international organizations working in rebel-held areas said they observed more Houthi efforts to recruit children in recent weeks. The Houthis' have suffered many losses, especially during an almost two-year battle for the city of Marib.

The aid workers said the rebels have pressured families to send their children to the camps. In return, they receive assistance, including food, from international organizations.

Two residents in Amran province said Houthi members came to their homes in May. They told them to prepare their five children, ages 11 to 16, to attend camps at the end of the school year.

Later in the month, the parents said, the children were taken to the school in Amran, the same place where the video had been shot.

One father said he was told that if he did not send his children, his family would no longer receive food.

One Houthi leader posted a video in early June when he visited one of the camps. It shows dozens of children in uniforms standing⁸ in a military-like formation. They declared allegiance to the rebel movement's top leader, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi.

Words in This Story

recruit — v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

rifle — n. a gun that has a long barrel and that is held against your shoulder when you shoot it

resident — n. someone who lives in a particular place

truce — n. an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting, arguing, etc., for a certain period of time

anonymity — n. the quality or state of being unknown to most people

mosque⁵ — n. a building that is used for Muslim religious services

famine — n. a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat

dozen — n. a group of 12 people or things

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。