The Houthi group has escalated its recruitment of child soldiers and is systematically diverting humanitarian aid, according to multiple reports from Reuters published between 6:06 AM and 9:06 AM UTC on October 15th, 2025. The group has reportedly coerced Yemeni civilians into joining their militia and participating in anti-American rallies as a condition for receiving UN humanitarian aid. A former child soldier told Reuters he was recruited at age ten with promises of heavenly rewards. Dozen former and current UN officials revealed to Reuters that the United Nations is complicit in the Houthi's diversion of aid. They stated that the UN continued to collect data, even when aware that Houthi authorities were corrupting it, thereby enabling the continued diversion of essential supplies. The Houthis control the collection of food security data, which they allegedly inflate to exaggerate the hunger crisis in Yemen and secure more humanitarian funding, a Houthi spokesperson told Reuters that humanitarian aid work is "in fact, a political, military, and intelligence operation aimed at subjugating the Yemeni people." Civilians in displaced persons camps have faced harsh conditions, with one individual telling Reuters that he was labeled an "enemy" and denied aid for refusing to join the militia or participate in weekly rallies chanting "Death to America." These actions by the Houthi militia have occurred during the ongoing Gaza War.
