Thread by @saudkabli

Unfortunately @nytimes did not print some of our comments on their recent report by @ddknyt on KSA hiring Sudanese children to fight in Yemen, which is an outrageous insult to the brave Saudi soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice defending their nation.

The many outlandish claims made by @nytimes deserves questioning. For instance, did @nytimes see evidence of alleged payments to“child soldiers”?What type of American weapons were given to them? Did @nytimes see any firsthand?
Such serious allegations deserve closer examination.

Pics used by @nytimes for reporting show that none of the soldiers appear underage. They are incapable of even providing photo evidence to their claims. As for claim they were given US weapons, @nytimes own pic shows them using kalashnikovs, the pride of American made weaponry!

Records indicate that all active Sudanese military personnel in the Coalition are above age of18.Claim they were given American weapons is false.We hope @nytimes will be fair enough to acknowledge that so far they have provided little evidence to substantiate the claims they made

The @nytimes did not ask to visit the Sudanese army units active with the Coalition in order to corroborate their claims of child soldiers on the ground. We extend an invitation to them to do so. We have nothing to hide.

We welcome a @nytimes release of any evidence to their reporting.
KSA takes allegations of violations of international laws of armed conflict and treatment of children very seriously as KSA is signatory to the Convention On the Rights of the Child.

If there is a party to the Yemen conflict that is infamous for routinely exploiting child soldiers, it is the Iran backed Houthis. Unlike the thinly corroborated allegations in the article, Houthis’ forced recruitment of children is well documented by int’l orgs & HR orgs.

One more thought on the subject of child soldiers: check out @KSRelief_EN’s tremendous work in rehabilitating Yemeni children once dragged to the battlefield by the Iran back militia.