Security

2,990 children recruited by armed groups in Syria between 2021-2022: UN report

The SDF told the UN that 278 children (226 boys, 52 girls) were formally demobilized, of whom 54 received reintegration assistance.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/11/28 19:34

Hamrin Alouji, the mother of 13-year-old Peyal Aqil, said her daughter was recruited by the Kurdish Revolutionary Youth group, June 5, 2023, (Photo: AP/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Syria UN SDF Child recruitment

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The fourth United Nations report on children and armed conflict, covering the period from July 1, 2020 to Sep. 30, 2022, armed groups recruited 2,990 children in Syria in the time period.

“The recruitment and use of 2,990 children (2,860 boys, 130 girls) was verified. Of those, 400 children were recruited and used in the second half of 2020, while 1,299 children were recruited and used in 2021 and 1,291 between January and September 2022,” the report said.

The children were between 9 and 17 years old. According to international human rights law, 18 is the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities.

“Cases of recruitment and use more than doubled compared with the previous report. Incidents attributed to the opposition SNA increased by about 180 per cent, mainly perpetrated by the Faylaq al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Hamzah Division and Suqur al-Sham factions,” the report said.

Moreover, the report mentioned that although the SDF had committed to measures in the action plan signed in 2019 with the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18, it verified cases attributed to SDF and the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) increased by 80 percent.

Furthermore, the SDF told the UN that 278 children (226 boys, 52 girls) were formally demobilized, of whom 54 received reintegration assistance.

1,094 children were recruited and used by factions operating under the umbrella of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), 852 by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), 829 by the SDF and other SDF-linked components, and 115 by pro-Syrian government forces.

In addition, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement recruited 43 children, 6 were recruited by the Al-Qaeda linked Hurras al-Din, and 6 by unidentified perpetrators.

The UN also said that a vast majority of children, 2,977 children, were used in combat roles The remaining 13 children were used in support roles, including as cleaners or cooks.

“Reasons for the recruitment of children were primarily financial incentives, access to services and goods in the light of the dire economic situation, ideological allegiance and increasing tensions between parties operating in the north-east and north-west,” the report mentioned.