Reporters Without Borders confirms that the SDF continues to recruit children, and the cities of Kobani and Manbij are at the forefront of the scene

Reporters Without Borders confirms that the SDF continues to recruit children, and the cities of Kobani and Manbij are at the forefront of the scene

Jan 27 2023

ARK News... A report by Syrians for Truth and Justice said that the SDF continues to recruit minor children in the areas under its control, despite Mazloum Kobani's signing of an agreement with the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment of children under the age of 18.

The report indicated that the "Revolutionary Youth" affiliated with SDF continues to kidnap minors and enlist them.

The report pointed out that despite the SDF's pledge to stop recruitment and return child soldiers to their families, it has always refused to register many complaints from families of child soldiers from the "Revolutionary Youth".

The organization said that it was able to document no less than 49 cases of child recruitment in the areas of the PYD administration during the year 2022, pointing out that the information contained in the report was concentrated in the regions of Manbij and Kobani.

It indicated that the number of child soldiers in these two regions is greater than what the report presents, but most of the families whose children were kidnapped and recruited refrained from documenting their testimonies, for fear of the response of the "Revolutionary Youth", which had previously directly threatened them with expulsion from the region if they spoke in command.

In its report, the organization called on the SDF to show full and transparent commitment to the agreements signed to prevent the recruitment and use of children in military operations, whether those that took place with the "Geneva Call" organization in July 2014 or with the United Nations, in late June 2019.

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