UN: Syrian Kurdish militias conscripted more than 200 child soldiers in 2023
This is according to the latest UN report 'Children and Armed Conflict' soon to be published. Since last year, YPG militiamen continue to detain more than 800 minors under the pretext of 'association' with other armed groups. Violations and abuses at an "alarming" level throughout the country, violations of child rights.
Damascus (AsiaNews) - The Syrian Kurdish militias of the People's Protection Units (YPG) forcibly recruited hundreds of child soldiers into their ranks in 2023. This is according to a report by UN experts, which is currently being published and which also shows that the group continues to detain over 800 children since the end of last year under the pretext that they would be 'associated' with other armed groups.
In the document, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted the "alarming" number of violations against minors, including children, in Syria in all areas of the country, calling for respect for international human rights and children's laws. As for child soldiers, the ascertained number of those enlisted in the armed ranks in 2023 is 231.
The UN chief called for the unconditional and immediate release of all children from recruitment and forced detention, for which Kurdish militias have been largely responsible during the ongoing 13-year Syrian conflict. At the same time, Guterres emphasised that attacks on schools and hospitals must stop and must no longer be considered as targets and used for military purposes by various warring groups.
The report and its revelations about the continued recruitment and abduction of children by the YPG come just weeks after the signing of a UN action plan against one of the main rebel factions, the Syrian National Army (SNA). In the past, they too have allegedly operated extensively to recruit child soldiers into their ranks, gaining a leading position on the front of the armed groups active in the conflict.
Child soldiers are still an emergency to be dealt with in Syria, a nation struggling to emerge from a decade of civil war, even if today the situation, at least in terms of warfare, seems to be improving while the humanitarian emergency remains high. Starting with the 'poverty bomb', which is now perhaps claiming more victims than weapons in the past.
To confirm a counter-trend, it is enough to consult the similar UN report "Children and Armed Conflict" relating to 2021 in which the number of minors involved or exploited in the conflict was around 2,000, of which 483 were recruited from the ranks of the Popular Protection Units (YPG). According to the UN study, the armed factions fighting against President Bashar al-Assad made the most extensive use of child soldiers with 1518 recruits, the vast majority within the Syrian National Army (SNA) and Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (Hts).
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