VIDEO: Former PKK commander claims group recruit child soldiers
SHINGAL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - A former commander of the Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) military wing in the Iraqi Kurdish Yazidi province of Sinjar (Shingal) accused the group of illegal practices against the locals.
A former commander of the Shingal Protection Units (YPS) who spoke in an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24 on the condition of anonymity said the YPS has violated the rights of the children in Shingal and its surrounding areas.
"We were doing our best to free our daughters and sisters from IS, but the YPS were conscripting them and taking them to Qandil," the commander said.
He added that he was shocked when he learned that young women were taken to the PKK's Qandil mountain strongholds in Iraq and Turkey.
"Children aged 13 and 14 years were taken by YPS to become suicide bombers and for many other operations in Turkey and other countries," he said.
"Over 70 girls were taken from Shingal, and trained in Qandil, and most of them didn't return," he added.
The commander called on humanitarian organizations to save the people of Shingal from the practices of the YPS.
"I call on the international community either to let the people of Shingal migrate, or ask the YPS to leave Shingal," he said.
Additionally, a 13-year old Iraqi Yazidi girl talked to Kurdistan24 about her experience with the YPS and how she managed to flee before being taken to Qandil.
"When [the YPS] detained us, they told us to be prepared to go to Qandil, and brought nurses saying they would remove our wombs. We cried and fled to the mountains," she said.
Last week, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that the armed groups in Iraq affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have recruited boys and girls against their will.
YPS, in response, said the accusations were baseless and that they would abide by international laws.
Three months ago, Ezidi leaders held a conference at the Sharfaddin shrine in Shingal to discuss the future of Shingal and called for the departure of PKK-affiliated groups in the city.
Reporting by Chakdar Jamal