- I have many nightmares, I dream about the war.

I still often wake up at night.

Muhammad is today 13 years old.

Two years ago, he was playing football with his best friend when the two friends were kidnapped by the Huthi rebels and taken to a camp where children were trained to use weapons.

Muhammad and his friend were sent to different front lines, one day after intense fighting, Muhammad's friend did not return.

Muhammad lives with his family in a refugee camp in the city of Marib in northern Yemen.

Photo: Niclas Berglund

- I used to look at pictures in my phone to remember my family.

But I always started crying, they threatened to hit me with a cane and they took my phone away from me, says Muhammed.

Humanitarian disaster

The UN describes Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

The conflict in the country is in its seventh year, with no solution in sight.

Despite peace talks held in Stockholm, neither of the warring parties wants to;

The Iranian-backed Huthi people and the internationally recognized government side, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, are implementing their promises from the agreement. 

Photo: Niclas Berglund

The UN has just released an alarming report that children are being used in the fighting from both sides of the conflict.

Up to 2,000 children are said to have been killed in fighting during the years 2020 and 2021. 

- There are not many men who can fight anymore so they have to recruit children.

I have seen a lot of children on the front lines of the war, says Muhammed.

The war is creeping down with age

When me and reporter Stina Blomgren move us in the city of Marib, it is striking how young men and boys with weapons use weapons.

It is clear how the seven-year war has crept down to the younger generation in Yemen.

Photo: Niclas Berglund

In Marib there is a successful rehabilitation center for child soldiers and the clinic's psychologist Mahmoud Al-Mukhlafi testifies about children who are very aggressive and have difficulty finding their way back to a normal life.  

Muhammad, who has just been discharged from the clinic, has received great help from the psychologist, but Muhammad takes one day at a time. 

- I feel good today, I have received help and I have studied several subjects.

One day I want to be a correspondent and report from conflicts, says Muhammed with calmness and determination in his eyes.

Muhammad often spends evenings with his friends.

They like to play football together.

Photo: Niclas Berglund

Allowed to be a child

After we followed Muhammad, I can see how the quiet boy observes and listens attentively to his surroundings, an important quality to have if you want to be a good journalist.

I am absolutely convinced that one day Muhammad will become a fantastic journalist, giving us important and moving depictions from Yemen and the world. 

At the same time, some distance from Muhammad's tent, some children are playing football.

The evening is warm and the evening sun lights up the dust that swirls together with the cries and joy that spreads over the sandy landscape.

The kids chase the ball and now only the football and the next pass exist.

For a while, everything is forgotten, and they are allowed to be children in the dust of the game.

Photo: Niclas Berglund