SDF Accused of Abducting 12-Year-Old Boy in Kobani for Military Recruitment

ARK News.. Reports have emerged that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), through their youth wing known as Revolutionary Youth have abducted a child in northern Syria for forced recruitment.

According to a local source, Kamiran Saleh Ismat, a 12-year-old boy from Kobani (Syrian Kurdistan), was taken without his family’s knowledge or consent and transferred to one of the SDF’s child recruitment and militarization camps spread across the region.

The incident highlights ongoing accusations against the SDF of systematically recruiting minors, despite a formal pledge by SDF commander Mazloum Kobani. In 2019, he signed an Action Plan with Virginia Gamba, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, committing to end and prevent the use of child soldiers under the age of 18.

Rights groups and families, however, continue to report cases of child abductions and forced enlistment, raising concerns over the violation of international humanitarian law and the long-term impact on the region’s children.

Syria, Kobani, SDF, Child Recruitment, Human Rights

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