Yemen

Complicit In War Crimes – Canada Is Failing The People of Yemen

The crisis in Yemen continues to worsen as the Saudi-led coalition forces and Houthi rebels blatantly disregard the damage being inflicted on innocent Yemeni civilians. Famine and disease have spread through the country unchecked, due in large part to a Saudi-imposed blockade on air and sea ports that has resulted in a desperate shortage of food, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies.

The United Nations has renewed demands for combatants to allow unconditional humanitarian access to all parts of the country.

Saudi-led coalition allies repeatedly have hindered the movement of aid and commercial goods to the population. Huthi/Saleh (forces in Taiz)… routinely interfere with the work of humanitarians, at times demanding the diversion of aid to themselves or denying aid workers access to populations in need. [01]

The human cost of the two-year-old conflict is horrific. At least 8,000 civilian deaths and 45,000 injuries were reported by the middle of 2017, though it is suspected that the real figures are much higher. A recent draft UN report alleges that the Saudi coalition was responsible for more than 680 child casualties in 2016.

A devastating cholera outbreak, the most recent consequence of the fighting, has thus far afflicted over 500,000 people and resulted in almost 2,000 deaths. This outbreak is being exacerbated, and potentially even strategically exploited, by the coalition forces. Meanwhile, 17 million people are experiencing food insecurity and nearly 15 million lack access to basic healthcare services.

The innocent people of Yemen are trapped within a complex network of different national, regional and international competing vested interests, resulting in violent and deadly outcomes for which they alone suffer. Only bold leadership from the players in this conflict, both home and abroad, can (end the total ambivalence to human tragedy) – indeed it is their moral, and legal, responsibility to do so. [02]

As the situation deteriorates, an effective international response is desperately needed.

To date, there has been a widespread failure on the part of the international community to substantively address the crisis, which is unfolding in plain view and in which combatants are demonstrably violating the rules of international law. Indiscriminate air strikes, imprecise weapons used in residential areas, and the use of cluster munitions are but a few of the atrocities being perpetrated on both sides of the conflict. Significant pressure needs to be put on Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the situation and bring an end to civilian suffering.

The UN Security Council should take prompt action to rejuvenate the political track by passing a long-overdue new resolution under its mandatory Chapter VII authority demanding an immediate ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access and a return to talks based on the existing UN road map, which requires compromises from both sides.

In such a context of lawlessness and abuse, there is an urgent need for truth, accountability and justice for victims of the conflict.

Given the apparent inadequacies of Saudi Arabia and Yemen-led investigations to date, Amnesty International believes the only way to achieve this is through the establishment of a UN-led independent international investigation to look into alleged violations by all parties. [03]

It is in this context that we must once again highlight the unconscionable decision by the Canadian government to continue moving forward with the $15 billion Saudi arms deal.

Simply put, Canada cannot export weapons to Saudi Arabia without being complicit in the gross violations of human rights being perpetrated by Saudi forces. In addition to Canada taking a more active diplomatic role in resolving the Yemen conflict, it is absolutely critical that this arms deal is cancelled and that Bill-C47 ensures an acceptably high standard for Canadian arms exports moving forward. [04]

Watch rare films and TV series in our Documentaries section.

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Yemen: The Trip To Hell On Earth – By Founder Of Mona Relief

Our humanitarian NGO Mona Relief planned a short trip to Hareeb al-Qaramish district in Marib Governorate, where 10,710 people (including 6,426 children) live. The purpose of the trip was to conduct a survey to assess what relief aid the people there would need. Located in eastern Yemen, Hareeb al-Qaramish district is 72 Kilometers from the capital Sana’a.

**The situation there is horrifying beyond description. We noted on this trip that more than 200 people are in dire need of basic amenities**.

Intense battles are being fought in the district itself between the two opposing sides in Yemen. Due to the conflict there, hundreds of families have been forced to flee from the luxury of their homes to caves in the countryside, to save their families from being caught under the crossfire from both the warring sides.

During our visit to the district, we met many families living in the same situation because they have no other options. They had the choice to live in the caves without any amenities or die in a crossfire of bombings and get buried in the rubble of their houses.

Abdul Qader, a father of eight children told us about his daily sufferings in the cave that he along with his family chose to move to for safety.

“Ten months ago, I came to this place leaving behind my own house after it was hit by a mortar shell and half of my house was destroyed” he said. He added, “Thank God! I still alive and none of my family’s members were injured.’’

“Looking for a suitable place to live in is hard especially when destiny puts your life at risk and you are left with no choices,’’ Saleh commented. He is a farmer and used to live near the al-Saleb mountain, where clashes are going on presently. He has two wives and twelve children. Now he lives with them in a cave that lack any basic amenities.

Abdul al-Qader and Saleh chose to live close by in the same area to be able to come to the aid each others families in the case of attacks by wild animals at night. “Every single night since the past 10 months, I keep awake at night alert for any movement of wild animals nearby to ’’ Saleh mentioned.

“Not only the wild animals, but I also have to be careful about poisonous snakes,’’ he added. “Once my little boy, Ahmed was about to be bit by a poisonous snake but thank God who saved his life and we killed the snake in time.’’

Not only is the environment cruel but also the cruelty of the human being themselves that they are treating by. Inside their caves nothing is available- neither food, nor water, nor clothes, blankets, nothing! But they have only have hope, the hope to return to their houses sooner or later after the war ends but when no one can predict.

During our visit, I entered the cave of Abdul Qader trying to find some food in his new house, I mean cave. But I couldn’t find any. When I asked him how do you get the food for your family, his answer shocked me.

“Don’t say me how, as you see yourself. We have no food, we are just trying to stay alive by eating one meal every two days.’’ He added, “The helpful neighbours, provide us some food from time to time and we stock it up to use in the coming days.’’

Due to the ongoing war in that area, no one dares to travel to that area and hardly any of the local and international NGOs are able to reach out to people there to save them from starvation and diseases.

Hareeb al-Qaramish district in Marib Governorate.

I had seen a truck loading wheat while on the road to Hareeb al-Qaramish months ago. It was rumored to have been hit by an airstrike during its trip to the area. I didn’t believe it then but I later saw broken parts of the a truck myself. While on our way back to Sana’a, fighter jets of the Saudi-coalition hit a vehicle on the road but thank God we weren’t hit.

Upon arrival in Sana’a along with Mona Relief’s crew, I received a call from well wishers in Hareeb al-Qaramish inquiring if we are safe because they heard news that a fighter jet bombed a car en-route to Sana’a, and that they were worried that the car is ours. I reassured them that we are safe.

These are my personal experiences from my short trip with my crew at Mona Relief from Sana’a to Hareeb al-Qaramish.

Video of the interaction (in Arabic) with these two families:

This article is written by Mona Relief founder, Mr. Fatik Al-Rodaini.

Please take a moment to visit our Go Fund Me Campaign located here. We are raising money that is sent directly to Mona Relief – where your donation is saving lives in Yemen.

YEMEN: Genocide By Starvation – Even Russia Calls A Spade A Spade!

On the 13th of this month, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova spoke out on the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, while pointing out that Western apathy and U.S. involvement in Yemen is an hypocrisy of both their values and accusations of war crimes in Aleppo – when they are killing civilians and bombing hospitals in Northern Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

I have to agree with her. The following is her press release.

Once again, we must return to the humanitarian situation in Yemen. The situation there has become even more catastrophic following the latest escalation in combat. These alarming conclusions have been backed up at the briefing by United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’ Brien at the UN Security Council on March 10. He painted a shocking picture of the state of affairs, characterising Yemen as the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world.”

Combat between the sides of the conflict in Yemen, with direct involvement by the Saudi-led coalition,

have already killed at least 7,500 people since March 2015, according to the most conservative estimates,
with more than 40,000 wounded.
Around 19 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.
More than 7 million people, mostly children, are malnourished.
Two million Yemenis have been internally displaced, 62,000 of them in just the last six weeks.
Many of these people are unable to find shelter and are living in the open.
This does not include the tens of thousands of refugees.
More than 48,000 people from the coastal town of Mocha have fled in just the last two months since coalition forces began their offensive.

Coalition aircraft caused another bloody episode when, on March 10, they were reported to have bombed a market in the town of Khokha, killing dozens and wounding dozens more.

Plans to launch an offensive against Yemen’s biggest port, Hodeida, are especially worrying. Combat in this region will not only cause mass flight of the population, but will essentially cut the capital, Sana’a, off from food and humanitarian aid supply routes. There is no need to say what disastrous consequences this would have.

Airstrikes continue causing tremendous damage to Yemen’s civilian infrastructure. Schools, hospitals and transport facilities have been destroyed. Arbitrary air blockades and obstacles to shipping make it extremely difficult to get food and fuel supplies into the country. Medicines are in acutely short supply, which means that many Yemenis are dying of what are curable diseases today. The north of the country is in a catastrophic situation, with no cash supply. Public sector workers have not been paid in more than six months.

Terrorists from ISIS and Al-Qaeda are capitalising on this chaos, bolstering their strongholds in Yemen, mostly in the south of the country, and even further complicating the humanitarian situation.

But Western media and NGOs pay little attention to this situation, and indeed pass it over in silence. The West shows no interest in it within its various international forums, in strong contrast to its hyper-active position on Syria.

The Russian Embassy in Sana’a is making active efforts to facilitate the work of the UN humanitarian team in Yemen, headed by Jamie McGoldrick. It was with our effort that a secretariat was set up to ensure coordination between the UN personnel and the de-facto authorities in the capital, above all in the interests of ensuring the population’s unhindered access to humanitarian aid.

We call for an immediate cessation of all use of force, no matter the justifications for combat. It is our firm belief that the Yemeni conflict cannot be resolved by military means. The parties must return to the negotiating table, with the aid of UN Special Envoy Ismail Ahmed, with the aim of reaching a lasting ceasefire and finding a political solution to the conflict. [01]

Watch rare films and TV series in our Documentaries section.

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(18+) Documentary: Impact of Violent Extremists on Children Worldwide

The United Nations released a report in June, 2016, identifying 20 conflict situations affecting children of war. Read the UN report “Children in Conflict” on pdf in our research section.

Watch rare interviews and news reports in our Documentaries section.

Watch Alistair Reign News Channels on YouTube

KSA: The Saudi’s Destruction Of A Civilization, Its Culture And People

Genocide and iconoclasm – the war tactics the Saudi “royals” are infamous for using in their campaigns to spread Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia’s strictly enforced state religion. Since Wahhabism first rose its violent head in the desert of Nejd in the Hijaz, in the 18th century Islam, Christianity, Judaism and all other religious denominations have suffered a veritable cultural genocide at the hands of the al-Saud royal regime. [01]

Update 08/10/2016: Watch U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken releases the 2015 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom on our YouTube Channel.

Update 08/09/2016: A communication from OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS; part of a special report released on July 3rd (2016) by, on the “destruction of various Mosques and sites of religious, historical and cultural importance in Saudi Arabia.”

You can read the full communication on a pdf document. Below is an informational video produced by Al-Baqee Organization.

On July 13 (2016), in defense of their culture’s historical structures, the Baqee Organization took to the streets of the US capital, Washington, DC, and denounced the Saudi’s destruction of Islam’s holy sites.

According to the Baqee Organization over “7,000 Islamic sites have been destroyed to assuage Wahhabis’ own sense of self-righteous bigotry, still the world has sat in silence. Firmly anchored in intolerance for they think their ideology holy, and pure, Wahhabi clerics have rationalized religious oppression and brutality, turning it into a well-honed system.”

The Organization says “Amid the many crimes which were committed over the years one has towered over all as it spoke of a hate so entrenched in itself it could never be defined other than in ideological absolutism.

“In 1925, Al-Saud regime took its wrath on al Baqee cemetery, where some of Islam’s most noble personalities, including members of the Prophet Muhammad’s family, are buried. As it lies in ruins, al Baqee came to represent Resistance – the call of a people against the injustice of radicalism, the need for a people to reclaim its History so that cultural and religious identity would not be lost.

“Wahhabism has claimed many holy sites over the centuries — Gautama Buddha statues in Afghanistan, the Temple of Palmyra in Syria and the Tomb of Prophet Jonah in Iraq. Before Wahhabism, the world stands to see its memory erased. It is this violence, this insane pursuit for religious absolutism which the Baqee Organization ambitions to denounce, and oppose so that justice could be reclaimed.

“Muslims and non-Muslims – beyond creed, ethnicity, and political persuasions, people from across the United States will stand in solidarity with the embattled citizens of Saudi Arabia and the countries it oppresses. Similar protests have been scheduled at Saudi Arabian Consulates and Embassies in Los Angeles.

“In the face of tyranny, we are all minorities. It is how we face injustice which truly defines our character.”

Jannatul-Baqi before the Saudi occupation and destruction of the holy ground. In the year 1806, the radicalized Wahhabi militia, at Abdul Aziz ibn Saud's command, entered Madina, where they razed to the ground every mosque they came across, including desecration of the holy burial grounds of Al-Baqi, where the domes and markers of great Islamic personalities and holy persons were flattened into an anonymous field, leaving no sign of a single grave or tomb. — Jannatul-Baqi before the Saudi occupation and destruction of the holy ground. In the year 1806, the radicalized Wahhabi militia, at Abdul Aziz ibn Saud’s command, entered Madina, where they razed to the ground every mosque they came across, including desecration of the holy burial grounds of Al-Baqi, where the domes and markers of great Islamic personalities and holy persons were flattened into an anonymous field, leaving no sign of a single grave or tomb..

Today there is no sign of the Jannatul-Baqi holy cemetery. His infamous use of iconoclasm and religious tyranny was all part of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud’s quest to “re-envision” the holy cities with an infrastructure that would support his Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic belief, which also conveniently helped secure the Al-Saud family's position as kings and royal rulers of the realm. — Today there is no sign of the Jannatul-Baqi holy cemetery. His infamous use of iconoclasm and religious tyranny was all part of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud’s quest to “re-envision” the holy cities with an infrastructure that would support his Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic belief, which also conveniently helped secure the Al-Saud family’s position as kings and royal rulers of the realm.

BAQEE ORG

The Baqee Organization is a coalition of American-Muslims citizens committed to raise awareness on the brutal atrocities and attacks carried out by Wahhabism against Muslims, Islam and Islamic Heritage sites.

“As Shia Muslims we have devoted our time and energy to denouncing tyranny and injustice. We ambition to organize all Muslims – across all school of thoughts, and all Muslim organizations throughout the North American continent to better raise awareness and educate against the dangers of radicalism.

Our world History is being pillaged, our past raided … Silence is no longer an option!

Our stand starts at al Baqee cemetery as it is there that Islam was most brutally violated – its ground desecrated.

As Shia Muslims we will continue to speak for, and on behalf of Islam’s most brilliant tradition. We will hold true to Islam’s principles of free speech, freedom of religion, and defence of the oppressed.

THEIR VISION

To be the central organization in rebuilding Jannat-al-Baqee in Medinah, Saudi Arabia. To co-ordinate with other Muslims and Muslim Organizations to help, assist, protect and raise awareness in preventing further destruction of all Muslim Holy sites, mosques and to focus on Rebuilding the destroyed Holy Muslim sites.

You can visit their website, and support the cause of preserving history.

We welcome comments and conversation. Scroll down page to use the comment box.

Yemen: Another MSF Medical Facility Bombed, left 7 People wounded

An airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition has hit a clinic in southern Yemen run by MSF, wounding nine people, including two MSF staff. According to local sources, at 11.20 on 2 December, three airstrikes targeted a park in Taiz city’s Al Houban district, 2 km from MSF’s clinic.

MSF clinic under attack

The MSF team immediately evacuated the clinic and informed the Saudi-led coalition that their jet planes were mounting an attack nearby.

The clinic itself came under attack. The wounded, two of them with critical injuries, were transferred to Al Qaidah and Al Resalah hospitals. MSF supports both hospitals in treating war-wounded patients.

“I was in MSF’s mother and child hospital in Taiz, just 1 km away from Al Houban clinic, when we heard the airstrikes,” says Nora Echaibi, MSF’s medical team leader in Taiz.

Everyone was scared. We evacuated the teams as soon as possible

MSF’s team in Taiz is currently supporting Yemeni medical staff in providing emergency treatment to people wounded in the airstrikes.

At MSF’s tented clinic in Al Houban, staff provided urgent medical care to people displaced from their homes by the recent conflict. The Saudi-led coalition had been informed about the precise location and the activities carried out by MSF in Al Houban.

Violation of international humanitarian law

“The health structures GPS coordinates were regularly shared with the Saudi-led coalition, most recently on 29 November, when we informed them about this specific activity in Al Houban,” says Jerome Alin, MSF’s head of mission in Yemen.

“There is no way that the Saudi-led coalition could have been unaware of the presence of MSF activities in this location.”

MSF has been providing those hospitals in Taiz that are still functioning with emergency medications, surgical supplies and practical support since May 2015. An MSF team has been providing urgent medical care at its clinic in Al Houban for the past two months.

In the past two days, the team treated 480 patients in Al Houban.

“The bombing of civilians and hospitals is a violation of international humanitarian law,” says Alin. “Civilians seeking healthcare and medical facilities must be respected.” Alin added ”An MSF supported hospital was as well hit by airstrikes in Haydan District in Saada Province and completely destroyed last month.”

Médecins Sans Frontières Ireland: Yemen: Nine wounded in Saudi-led coalition airstrike on MSF clinic

Yemen: HRW Says US-Coalition Fails To Investigate Airstrikes

US Could Share Responsibility for Indiscriminate Attacks. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition carrying out attacks against the Houthis in Yemen has failed to investigate its apparently unlawful airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. The United States is also obligated to investigate attacks in which it played a role that allegedly violated the laws of war.

The 73-page report, “‘What Military Target Was in My Brother’s House?’: Unlawful Coalition Airstrikes in Yemen,” examines in detail 10 apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes that killed at least 309 civilians and wounded more than 414 between April and August 2015. (Read a summary of the attacks by Alistair Reign)

According to the United Nations, most of the 2,600 civilian deaths since the coalition began its military campaign against the Houthis in late March have been from coalition airstrikes. Human Rights Watch is unaware of any investigations by Saudi Arabia, other coalition members, or the US into these or other allegedly unlawful strikes, or of any compensation for victims or their families.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition carrying out attacks against the Houthis in Yemen has failed to investigate its apparently unlawful airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians. The United States is also obligated to investigate attacks in which it played a role that allegedly violated the laws of war.

“The coalition’s unwillingness to conduct even a single investigation of numerous potentially unlawful airstrikes is appalling,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “While the coalition may have sophisticated weaponry and US support, its commitment to the laws of war is rudimentary at best.”

Human Rights Watch conducted field research in the governorates of Ibb, Amran, Hajja, Hodaida, Taizz, and the capital, Sanaa, and spoke to victims, witnesses, and medical staff. Airstrikes hit homes, markets, a factory, and a civilian prison, though in all of these cases, Human Rights Watch either found no evident military target or found that the attack failed to distinguish civilians from military objectives.

Human Rights Watch compiled the names of 309 people – 199 men, 43 women, and 67 children – killed in the attacks, all believed to be civilians. Saudi officials have not responded to repeated Human Right Watch requests for information about the 10 airstrikes.

“When I got to the house, there was still dust in the air, and everything was covered in a layer of black ash,” said Muhammad Saleh al-Qihwi, whose house was destroyed in an April 2015 airstrike on the town of Amran.

“Asma’s head was open, and her leg was bleeding. Her 2-year-old daughter, Hyam, was lying on her shoulder, her head was smashed open. Her other daughter, Hasna, who’s 7, was shouting ‘Baba’ [father]. Her hair and skin were covered in ash, and she was burned badly. Her father, my brother Muhammad, had been asleep when the strike happened, and the roof landed on top of him. When I dug him out, there was a thin trickle of blood dripping from his ear. He was already dead.”

In September 2014, Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, a Zaidi Shia group from northern Yemen, took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
In January 2015, they effectively ousted President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and his cabinet members, who subsequently relocated to Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis, along with elements of the armed forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, then swept south, threatening to take the port city of Aden.

Saudi defence minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz (R) and interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz (C) meet with Saudi airforce officers in Riyadh to discuss plans for the coalition's military operations in Yemen. Saudi Press Agency/Handout/AFP Photo — Saudi defence minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz (R) and interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz (C) meet with Saudi airforce officers in Riyadh to discuss plans for the coalition’s military operations in Yemen. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout/AFP Photo)

On March 26, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition – consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Sudan – with US participation, began an aerial campaign against Houthi and allied forces.

The US is a party to the conflict, playing a direct role in coordinating military operations, Human Rights Watch said. Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of the US Air Force Central Command, said that the US military has deployed dedicated personnel to the Saudi Arabian center planning airstrikes to help coordinate activities, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US participation in specific military operations, such as aerial refueling during bombing raids, may make US forces jointly responsible for laws-of-war violations by coalition forces. As a party to the conflict, the US is obligated to investigate allegedly unlawful attacks in which it took part.

The United Kingdom and France have supported the coalition by selling arms to Saudi Arabia and other coalition members. The US recently announced the sale of aerial bombs to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Under the laws of war, a party to the conflict may only attack military objectives.
In carrying out attacks, warring parties are required to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects.
The weapons used and the manner in which the attack is carried out must be able to distinguish between the military objective and civilians.
Attacks in which there is no evident military target, that are indiscriminate, or that cause civilian harm disproportionate to the anticipated military gain, are unlawful.

Parties must also avoid deploying in densely populated areas and remove, to the extent feasible, civilians in the vicinity of their military forces. In several instances it is not clear if the Houthis or allied forces had taken significant measures to move civilians away from places where they stored ammunition or deployed their forces.

Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, — Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division.

Human Rights Watch is also concerned by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s use of explosive weapons with wide-area effect in populated areas. A weapon that affects an area in a radius of dozens or hundreds of meters of its impact will almost certainly kill or wound civilians if used in populated areas.

The UN Security Council should remind all parties to the conflict in Yemen that violators of human rights law and the laws of war may be subject to travel bans and asset freezes, Human Rights Watch said. The UN Human Rights Council should create an independent, international investigative mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the laws of war by all parties to the conflict.

“The UN Security Council and Human Rights Council have sat idly by while coalition bombs are killing civilians,” Stork said. “They need to mandate the investigations that the parties responsible for these apparently unlawful attacks have been unwilling to undertake.”

Human Rights Watch: Yemen: Coalition Fails to Investigate Unlawful Airstrikes

World: Eight Countries Where Children Are Forced To Fight Wars

The following is a list compiled by Ishaan Tharoor, referencing a report by Kevin Sieff – ‘South Sudan thought it solved its child soldier problem. It hasn’t, appeared in The Washington Post.

Burma

A 15-year-old rebel soldier of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army inserts bullets into the clip of his rifle near a military base in the Kokang region on March 11. (Reuters) — **A 15-year-old rebel soldier of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army inserts bullets into the clip of his rifle near a military base in the Kokang region on March 11.** (Reuters)

In recent years, Burma, also known as Myanmar, has undergone important political reforms and staged elections this week that appeared to show the victory of the country’s main opposition, pro-democracy party. But its many years of repressive military rule have left a toxic legacy: the presence of child soldiers in the ranks of both the national army as well as a constellation of ethnic militias in various parts of the country. Hundreds have been freed in the past decade in the wake of international pressure.

Nigeria

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has abducted children into its ranks, and forced some to bear arms.

The Arab world’s most impoverished nation has devolved into a patchwork of rival militias, whose battles have been further complicated by the intervention of Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia. As my colleague Hugh Naylor reported earlier this year, amid political chaos and humanitarian calamity, “hundreds and possibly thousands of boys are fighting in Yemen’s conflict.”

Democratic Republic of Congo

The succession of armed conflicts to torment the Democratic Republic of Congo include myriad cases of child soldiers being drafted into the ranks of both government forces and a constellation of rebel groups.

South Sudan

Young boys, child soldiers, sit with their rifles at a disarmament ceremony in Pibor overseen by UNICEF and partners on Feb. 10. (Charles Lomodong/AFP/Getty Images) — **Young boys, child soldiers, sit with their rifles at a disarmament ceremony in Pibor overseen by UNICEF and partners on Feb. 10.** (Charles Lomodong/AFP/Getty Images)

As Sieff reports, some 16,000 children have been recruited by both government and rebel forces since hostilities flared in late 2013. “They are foot soldiers and cooks and cleaners, boys and girls as young as 9. Many were taken from their homes and schools and forced onto the battlefield,” Sieff writes.

Syria

Young boys known as the lion cubs hold rifles and Islamic State group flags as they exercise at a training camp in a photo released on April 25. (Militant Web site via AP) — **Young boys known as the lion cubs hold rifles and Islamic State group flags as they exercise at a training camp in a photo released on April 25.** (Militant Web site via AP)

Syria’s miserable disintegration — the country is now in the fifth year of a grinding civil war — has displaced half the Syrian population and led to a hodgepodge of militant factions carving out fiefdoms within the unraveling state. The jihadist Islamic State has released propaganda videos and photos of its young recruits, including hideous images of children as parties to hideous slaughters. They are not alone, though: a recent Human Rights Watch report accused Syrian Kurdish factions, erstwhile allies of the United States, of also sending children to war.

Somalia

Security forces stand by the wreckage of a car after it was bombed in the Wardhigley District south of Mogadishu on Feb. 27. (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images — **Security forces stand by the wreckage of a car after it was bombed in the Wardhigley District south of Mogadishu on Feb. 27.** (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images

War-torn Somalia has endured decades of conflict and currently is still in the midst of a long-running battle pitting government and African Union forces against al-Shabab, an Islamist group with ties to al-Qaeda. Both the extremist group and the government have been accused by the U.N. of recruiting child soldiers. Last year, the U.N.’s top envoy for children and armed conflict found that former child soldiers rescued from al-Shabab were being “punished” in camps intended for their rehabilitation.

Sudan

A boy watches as a military convoy of government forces accompanying Yasir Ahmed Mohamed, special prosecutor for crimes in Darfur, and arrives in Tabit village in Sudan's North Darfur region on Nov. 20, 2014. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters) — A boy watches as a military convoy of government forces accompanying Yasir Ahmed Mohamed, special prosecutor for crimes in Darfur, and arrives in Tabit village in Sudan’s North Darfur region on Nov. 20, 2014. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

In Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, there are myriad reports and eyewitness accounts of child soldiers participating in alleged war crimes and massacres of civilians.

The Washington Post: 8 countries where children are still forced to fight wars

The United Nations has renewed demands for combatants to allow unconditional humanitarian access to all parts of the country.

As the situation deteriorates, an effective international response is desperately needed.

In such a context of lawlessness and abuse, there is an urgent need for truth, accountability and justice for victims of the conflict.

Watch Daily News at Alistair Reign Channel on YouTube.

The situation there is horrifying beyond description. We noted on this trip that more than 200 people are in dire need of basic amenities.

Abdul Qader, a father of eight children told us about his daily sufferings in the cave that he along with his family chose to move to for safety.

Due to the ongoing war in that area, no one dares to travel to that area and hardly any of the local and international NGOs are able to reach out to people there to save them from starvation and diseases.

I have to agree with her. The following is her press release.

Terrorists from ISIS and Al-Qaeda are capitalising on this chaos, bolstering their strongholds in Yemen, mostly in the south of the country, and even further complicating the humanitarian situation.

But Western media and NGOs pay little attention to this situation, and indeed pass it over in silence. The West shows no interest in it within its various international forums, in strong contrast to its hyper-active position on Syria.

Watch Daily News at Alistair Reign Channel on YouTube.

Watch Alistair Reign News Channels on YouTube

“In the face of tyranny, we are all minorities. It is how we face injustice which truly defines our character.”

BAQEE ORG

THEIR VISION

We welcome comments and conversation. Scroll down page to use the comment box.

Burma

Nigeria

Yemen

Democratic Republic of Congo

South Sudan

Syria

Somalia

Sudan

**The situation there is horrifying beyond description. We noted on this trip that more than 200 people are in dire need of basic amenities**.