Aden - Asharq Al-Awsat

Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Sec-Gen Abdulaziz al-Twaijri declared that the Houthi coup affects the sovereignty, security, independence, national fabric and social environment of Yemen, backed by foreign entities.

Twaijri was speaking at the international symposium on "Situations of Educational, Cultural and Media Institutions in Yemen: Violations and Protection Mechanisms" held at the headquarters of ISESCO, co-organized by ISESCO and the Embassy of Yemen i Morocco.

The Sec-Gen mentioned that the United Nations and its specialized agencies have recorded ongoing armed attacks on schools and institutes in Yemen, stating that about 500 schools have been destroyed and a large number of educational institutions have been used for military purposes.

In addition, there has been an increase in the number of children recruits where Houthis use them in battles. Thousands of children have been forced to flee with their families, both inside and outside Yemen, state-official Saba news agency reported.

Twaijri pointed out that in light of this situation, and with a large numbers of Yemeni children forced to leave schools because their school had been destroyed or they are forced to work and help their families to provide additional income, international organizations reported that about 3 million Yemeni children are not in schools.

He said that the deteriorating situation in the education and culture sectors in Yemen was caused by the violations of the rebel militias in the areas under their control. He also stressed that this will have an impact on the efforts of the Yemeni legitimate government to achieve the fourth objective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Yemeni Ambassador to Morocco Ezzedin al-Asbahi discussed Houthi since their coup. He stressed the importance of protecting the sectors of education, culture and archaeology, pointing out that these sectors did not receive the needed international attention.

Asbahi mentioned that according to reports about 1,600 schools have been destroyed and militias converted over 270 schools to military headquarters, thus having about 3.5 million students without education. He added that for over two years, 166,000 teacher were denied their rights.

The Ambassador pointed out that several cultural institutions in Yemen had been destroyed and many cultural enlightenment centers abolished as well as numerous creative institutions canceled their services.

Ambassador Asbahi concluded that Houthis systematically destroyed Yemen's physical heritage, such as monuments and museums. He also indicated several museums of Sanaa, Taiz, Aden and Dhali were robbed, destroyed and vandalized by Houthi militias and their affiliate and extremist groups.