Eritrean Recruit’s Confessions Reveal Iranian-Backed Houthis Plot in Horn of Africa

Explosive confessions from an Eritrean recruit, captured by Yemen’s National Resistance forces, have unmasked an alleged Iranian scheme to destabilize the Horn of Africa by replicating the Houthi militia model. The plan, aimed at securing Tehran’s dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, involves covert training camps in Yemen and the recruitment of Afar tribe youth across Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.

Ali Ahmed Mohammed Yaa’idi, the detained recruit, said in a video released by the National Resistance’s military media that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is orchestrating the creation of a Shiite armed movement. “Iran wants to turn the Afar into a force stronger than the Houthis or Hezbollah,” Yaa’idi stated, alleging that tribal leaders were promised unprecedented military and financial backing in exchange for secessionist efforts to carve out an Iran-aligned Afar state.

From Djibouti to Yemen: A Recruitment Pipeline

Yaa’idi detailed how he was recruited in Djibouti by Mohammed Ali Musa, an operative linked to Iran’s regional network. Lured by promises of employment, he and nine others were smuggled via boat to Hodeidah, a Houthi-controlled Yemeni port. There, Afar leader Mohammed Alawsen and Houthi officials allegedly transported the group to a coastal camp for two months of ideological indoctrination, followed by advanced combat training in Sana’a.

Child Soldiers and Strategic Ambitions

The recruit emphasized that Iran and its Houthi allies are prioritizing boys aged 10–20 for indoctrination, describing them as “easy to mold.” After training, youths are reportedly sent back to their home countries to clandestinely build militias. Yaa’idi claimed an Afar commander in Yemen boasted that the region’s strategic value—gateway to the Red Sea—exceeds even Yemen’s, warranting greater Iranian investment than the Houthis received.

The camps, hidden in northern Hodeidah and Sana’a, operate under strict secrecy to avoid international scrutiny. Analysts warn the revelations underscore Iran’s escalating bid to control critical maritime chokepoints, leveraging proxy forces to project power. The Afar region’s split across three nations (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti) could inflame existing ethnic tensions, further destabilizing a volatile corridor vital to global trade.