(MENAFN) Abdulwasse Mohammed wakes at 5am every day and is at his checkpoint near the Taiz frontline, Kalashnikov in hand, by 6am. In the slow hours he waves through cars and eats his meals in the sun. At busier times, he is rushed to the front to blaze away at the Houthis with a heavy machine gun.
This is not Mohammed's first war, nor his second. Mohammed is a veteran of three conflicts in Yemen, stretching over 30 years. Now in his 50s, this weather-beaten soldier has, like many his age, been dragged back into war as a member of the Popular Resistance.
"No one wants to fight at this age, but I am a soldier and that is my task," he told Middle East Eye, resting his arms on the ammunition belt slung across his midriff.
"Many of my comrades were promoted or have retired. I have no education, and no options. I depend on my salary for my eight family members.
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