Yemen President Announces Amnesty for Houthi Defectors and Calls for New Recruits

Yemen's interim president, Rashad al‑Alimi, announced on Tuesday a nationwide call for citizens to enlist in the armed forces and simultaneously offered a blanket amnesty to members of the Iran‑backed Houthi movement who abandon the rebellion, Al Jazeera reported.

The president urged Yemenis to view military service as a civic duty that could help restore stability after years of devastation, emphasizing that new recruits would receive training, salaries and veteran benefits.

Under the proposed decree, any Houthi combatant who surrenders voluntarily would be exempt from prosecution for past offenses, provided they disclose their weapons and cooperate with security forces. The offer also includes a pathway to civilian reintegration, such as job placement assistance and psychosocial support.

The conflict, which erupted in 2014 when the Houthi coalition seized the capital Sana'a and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi into exile, has since drawn in a Saudi‑led coalition and Iranian support for the rebels. Despite several UN‑brokered ceasefires, fighting has persisted, creating what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 24 million people in need of aid.

If successful, the amnesty could weaken the Houthi command structure by encouraging defections, a tactic used in other protracted insurgencies. Analysts, however, warn that deep mistrust and fears of retaliation may limit uptake, and coalition forces have not yet clarified how they will handle surrendered fighters.

Al Jazeera noted that the government plans to set up registration centers in key provinces within the next week, and that international partners, including the United Nations and the European Union, have welcomed the move as a potential confidence‑building measure ahead of renewed peace talks in Geneva.