Troops resumed their advance in Jawf & areas controlled

Yemen’s insurgency leaders have held a meeting with a number of elders loyal to former president Ali Abdallah Saleh to discuss the forcible recruitment of children following huge human losses within their ranks on the front lines, sources in Al-Mahwit governorate said.

The sources confirmed that the meeting discussed the recruitment mechanism in areas such as al-Taweelah, Bani Saad, and Shibam. Houthi supervisors were assigned to follow up the enlisting. Meanwhile, insurgency militias continued to enforce taxes in Hawit and Amran which fall under their control. They have forced stores and merchants to pay sums of money for the alleged funding of the celebrations commemorating the insurgency coup on September 21.

Meanwhile, the popular resistance in Tuhama district continued to target Houthi and Saleh military bases, amid intensified clashes in several battlefronts in Taiz, Marib, Nahim, and al-Baydaa. Coalition warplanes carried out raids on Houthi and Saleh militias, destroying three vehicles, five motorcycles and killing and injuring several of them, according to military sources.

The coalition also staged raids on Houthi targets in al-Jawf district, leading to deaths among the insurgents. Army troops advanced in Marib and regained control over new mountainous areas following severe clashes in Heilan and al-Mashjah.

National army troops also succeeded in thwarting an insurgency attack in al-Tebbah al-Sawdaa of al-Qabitah district in Lahij governorate, a military source informed Asharq Al-Awsat. In addition, militias continued to attack residential areas in Taiz, killing and injuring several civilians including women and children.

A military source in Taiz reiterated to Asharq al-Awsat that several residents were killed and a child was injured. He added that the western front of Taiz witnessed severe clashes, forcing the insurgents to flee. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the shelling on residential areas in Shab al-Doubba and Souk al-Samil in Taiz on Friday September 15, which left three children dead and nine others severely injuring.

ICRC’s Regional Director for the Near and Middle East Robert Mardini urged all warring sides to take every precaution to spare civilians. “We cannot turn a blind eye on the rising number of civilians injured or killed as a result of indiscriminate attacks in Yemen’s conflict. Too often in recent months, civilians, women, men and children, have been in harm’s way, becoming victims of shells and bombs,” said Mardini.

The Regional Director added that what happened on Friday is yet another stark reminder of the immense suffering that civilians across Yemen are enduring in their daily lives.

On political side, The Arab League said that a more accurate approach was required in the annual report of the UN Secretary-General on the situation of children in armed conflict, in which the UN accused the Arab Coalition Countries to Restore Yemen’s Legitimacy of committing violations against children during the country’s armed conflict.

Mahmoud Afifi, the official spokesman of the Arab League secretary general, said that the report lacked a more accurate approach by the authors in monitoring, recording and documenting the alleged violations by Arab Coalition in Yemen.

He stressed that Yemen’s complex situation and the responsibility of the coup militias for a large number of violations “makes it important to refer to the legitimate government in Yemen as the main source for information and data in this regard.”

Afifi added that the severe deterioration in the humanitarian and living conditions of the Yemeni people necessitated practical steps to mobilize the much-needed efforts to address the situation as soon as possible, starting with a constructive and sound dialogue between the international community and the legitimate government and its allies.

He also highlighted great efforts deployed by the Arab Coalition over the last years to help the Yemeni people, including, for example, the work of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRELIEF) in the protection of Yemeni children in armed conflicts and the rehabilitation of child soldiers.

Meanwhile, legal sources said that the credibility and accuracy of United Nations reports was at stake, as the international organization has recently resorted to inaccurate statistical data from non-neutral actors possibly involved in conflicts.

The sources told Asharq al-Awsat that in recent years there has been an increase in the international organization’s failures, while its secretary-general’s tasks have been limited to denunciation and condemnation.

Dr. Hadi Al-Yami, the former chairman of the Arab Human Rights Committee, said that international organizations have tried to exploit Saudi support for their programs and to issue reports in the interests of the Kingdom’s enemies. He also expressed his surprise over the United Nations’ designation of the Arab Coalition as a party that violates children’s rights.

“Unfortunately, information obtained by international organizations is not objective, as it comes from employees working for the Houthis and does not reflect the reality of Houthi violations of children’s rights,” he stated.