Ten years after the Iranian-backed Houthi movement took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa’, and the recruitment of African migrants continues.
Since last year, Houthi officials subjected over 1.5 million children to ideological indoctrination and military training with the majority attending summer camps.
In doing so, extreme religious educational curricula in Houthi-controlled areas boost recruitment attempts. On top of this, the Houthis have scaled up religious indoctrination of violent jihad since the 7th of October.
Child Exploitation in 1990s
Child exploitation by the Houthis is a long-standing concern in Yemen, dating back to the 1990s, in the Houthi stronghold of Saada.
Initially, supervisors, tribal sheikhs, and teachers recruited at first.
During the 2004 Houthi insurgency, against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule, child exploitation became widespread.
Institutionalised Exploitation After 2014
However, recruitment became a institutionalised process following the Houthis’ military capture of governmental institutions in 2014.
The group’s territorial expansion in Marib, an energy-rich city and Yemen’s last major northern stronghold, amounted to a significant failure for the Houthis.
Thousands of Houthi fighters were killed during the two year confrontation. As such, tribes became resistant to supply combatants.
As a result, the Houthis increased efforts to recruit youngsters and African migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, to supplement their forces.
Migration by Smuggling: Horn of Africa to Yemen
Thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa go through Yemen’s coastal routes to Saudi Arabia.
According to estimates by the IMO at the UN, over 200,000 African migrants reside in Yemen. Up to 43,000 of these migrants are stranded in deplorable humanitarian conditions inside Yemen.
Many Africans, who are promised transportation to the GCC, seek repatriation.
UN Reporting: Exploitation of African Migrants
The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen first documented the exploitation of irregular African migrants in September 2024.
Documentation included forced recruitment to fight against Yemen’s Internationally Recognised Government. Houthis have enlisted the Ethiopian Tigray and Oromo mercenaries.
Salaries range from $80 to $100. According to the group’s media centre, Houthi security forces have abducted 2,288 African migrants in Saada to fight in their concurrent campaigns.
In May 2022, the Houthis set up an illegal migrant detention centre in Saada without consulting international refugee organisations. This led to the entry of 40,000 African migrants and refugees inside Yemen (Q1, 2022).
Houthis admit the recruitment of Africans. In February 2024, state media channel, Al-Masirah, showed a burial for Ethiopian warrior Qasim Ahmed Yusuf killed in fighting. A Houthi spokesman exhorted Yemenis to emulate Ethiopian recruits.
Gender in Houthi Exploitation
In various conflict zones, African youth are increasingly being exploited for a range of military-related activities, including combat roles, security assignments, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and logistical support for armed forces.
A report by the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms highlights a troubling trend:
Between January 2017 and 2023, the Houthis reportedly hid hundreds of African refugees across 17 different provinces.
This alarming situation unfolds amidst a backdrop of lawlessness and severe economic disintegration, where migrants—especially women and children—face heightened risks of violence.
Vulnerable groups are often subjected to horrific abuses, including sexual trafficking, forced labour, and sexual violence in often coerced marriages.
Prison Recruitment and Retaliation
For those who refuse to comply, the consequences can be dire. Victims fall foul to kidnap, rape, and extended periods of incarceration.
In such cases, risks escalate further, as these individuals could potentially encounter execution or other forms of severe reprisal for their defiance.
For those who choose to resist Houthi pressure, the consequences can be severe.
Many are subjected to prolonged periods of incarceration, facing harsh living conditions and possible torture.
The Houthis implemented a disturbing strategy of religious indoctrination programs in prison facilities to recruit African captives. Such a practice stands in stark violation of both Yemeni constitutional standards and international humanitarian law.
Within these prisons, officials are known to exert pressure on young African detainees, coercing them to join the so-called “holy war” against Israel. This coercive recruitment is often accompanied by the promise of material incentives; money, food, and blackmail entice vulnerable individuals to abandon their beliefs and join a cause they may not have otherwise supported.
Houthi Recruitment Under Trump
The situation for African migrants in Yemen is troubling. Houthi recruitment dates back to the 1990s yet this strategy has intensified since the 7th of October. Such an alarming trend underscores the need for international intervention aimed at providing protection for these African migrants, documentation of war crimes, and accountability through legal due process.
Whilst Trump’s designation of the group as an Foreign Terrorist Organisation is inevitable, the ramifications of the U.S. FTO will only exacerbate Houthi recruitment and the exploitation of African migrants.
Therefore, any effective solution to this cycle of violence and exploitation must address the underlying causes of exploitation both inside Yemen and across the Horn of Africa if the international community are to solve this injustice.
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