UN Investigates British Involvement in Yemen War, Use of Child Soldiers

Daily Mail confirms passing information on child soldiers to UN

Last weekend’s revelation that British special forces were wounded in combat in Yemen initially sparked some major inquiries in parliament, as Britain long insisted they weren’t involved in the Yemen War. Now, the investigations are going international.

According to the Daily Mail, who broke the initial story, the United Nations is now launching an investigation into the British special forces’ involvement in Yemen, and in particular how it relates to Yemeni child soldiers.

Children as young as 13 are routinely allowed to fight for pro-Saudi militias, and the British forces are also apparently involved with them. The Daily Mail said they’d passed information about those ties to the UN.

The British government is so far trying to avoid talking about its role in the Yemen War by saying they don’t consider themselves involved in the Yemen War. That’s going to be a tough position to maintain, however, with parliament sniffing around for specifics.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.