Yemen's (P.T.O.C) reveals Houthis violations against African migrants through forced recruitment and military exploitation

The Platform for Tracking Organized Crime and Money Laundering in Yemen (P.T.O.C) published its new report explaining how the Iran-backed Houthis exploit African migrants in Yemen through forced recruitment, military exploitation, and systematic violations of their human rights. These practices pose a humanitarian and security threat that extends to the entire region, necessitating an urgent international response to address it.

The report explains how Houthis use migrants as fuel for their war through forced recruitment and military exploitation, as well as their involvement in arms and human trafficking. The report also sheds light on the crimes committed by the Houthis inside the Martyrs' Mosque and detention centers, which represent serious violations of international laws.

The (P.T.O.C) platform previously published about the Houthis' activity in the Horn of Africa and the path of expansion. However, The new report reveals security and intelligence documents and information being published for the first time about the transformation of the Houthis, of a number of specific sites into training camps, recruitment centers, and intelligence activities for Africans. The most prominent of these sites is the Martyrs' Mosque (located in Bab El-Yemen) in Sanaa, where African refugees in Yemen from Somali, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Djiboutian nationalities are recruited and subjected to intensive sectarian courses, military training, and then sent to the frontlines or the Horn of Africa region in exchange for monthly salaries. This is to spread the Houthi sectarian ideology and exploit them in smuggling weapons and fighters into Yemen across the Red Sea.

The Houthis have set up four other military training centers for Africans: Bajil in Hodeidah, (Youssef Al-Madani in charge); al-Jawf (Badr Bazara'a in charge), Sanaa (Mutlaq A-Marani in charge), and Saada (Hasan Dubish in charge).

The Houthis seek to enhance their military and logistical capabilities by recruiting migrants, which compensates for human losses in their battles. They also strengthen their regional presence by threatening waterways, such as the Red Sea, and disrupting international trade.

The Houthis and their backers, Iran, have been seeking domination and control over the Horn of Africa region, particularly since their coup against the legitimate government and takeover of the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, followed by a bloody war ignited in March 2015. This is done through establishing a foothold in the Red Sea entrance, setting up military bases in the region, and promoting sectarian Shia ideology.

Documents obtained by the Platform indicate that some African groups who have been gathering at the Martyrs' Mosque recently rebelled and refused to follow the orders of the Houthis, protesting against ongoing violations and mistreatment they have faced. This dramatic development in the relationship between the militia and the Africans led to the militia carrying out a massacre inside the Martyrs' Mosque, where one Eritrean national, who was the leader of the group, was killed and others were injured.

Reports from the previous Platform indicate that dozens of African migrants died and over 200 others were injured in a fire on March 7, 2021 after Houthi security forces fired shells at an immigration detention center in Sanaa, to disperse them after they protested against the degrading and illegal treatment and inhumane detention conditions.

This report is a continuation of a series of reports released by the Platform earlier, revealing the dangerous Houthi activity in the African Horn, and disclosing secret information for the first time about the smuggling of weapons by the Iran-backed militia from the Horn of Africa to Yemen and vice versa, as well as human trafficking.

Due to the pandemic and the classification of migrants as carriers of the "coronavirus" virus, the Houthis have increased the (Forced Deportation) of migrants from the northern Yemeni provinces they control to the south, officially under the control of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The report calls for imposing international sanctions on Houthi leaders involved in the exploitation of migrants, and rallying international support to stop the inhumane practices of the Houthis.

It emphasizes the importance of monitoring and documenting all the horrific violations committed by the Houthis against migrants, and compiling a blacklist of all leaders, officials, and members involved in these violations and holding them accountable according to the law and constitution.

It also supports efforts to document violations against migrants and submitting them to the UN Security Council and international forums.

The report recommends the necessity of establishing safe humanitarian corridors to protect African migrants and ensure their arrival to safe areas, as well as increasing support from international organizations to provide protection and healthcare for migrants.

The report also stresses the importance of supporting the legitimate Yemeni government and the Yemeni coast guard in combating illegal migration through the Horn of Africa region to Yemen, due to the security, economic, and social risks it poses to Yemen and the region.