UN: Yemen's Houthi rebels agree to stop using child soldiers
ABC News
The United Nations says Yemen’s Houthi rebels have agreed to rid their ranks of child soldiers
UNITED NATIONS -- Yemen's Houthi rebels have agreed to rid their ranks of child soldiers, who have fought by the thousands during the country's seven years of civil war, the United Nations said Monday.
The Houthis signed what the U.N. described as an “action plan” to end and prevent recruiting or using children in armed conflict, killing or maiming children and attacking schools and hospitals. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rebels committed to identifying children in their ranks and releasing them within six months.
One of the Houthis top diplomats, Abdul Eluh Hajar, signed the agreement. Representatives from the U.N.’s children’s agency posed with Houthi officials for the media at a ceremony to mark the agreement in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The Houthis called it a plan to protect children.
Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is operating in exile, made similar commitments in several documents signed since 2014, the U.N. said.
