SDF Continues to Abduct Children to Serve as Soldiers

[Anthea]

PKK's Child Abductions

Families in Syrian Kurdistan, whose children were abducted by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and coerced into joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have staged protests in Qamishli

Dozens of families gathered outside the PKK's Revolutionary Youth headquarters in Qamishli, demanding the immediate release of their abducted children.

Meanwhile, the Rasad Network for Human Rights reported on Saturday that the PKK's Revolutionary Youth Group had abducted 11 children from PKK-controlled areas since early July.

The organization also alleged that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had subjected the kidnapped children's relatives to sexual assault and threats of arrest. UNICEF officials purportedly declined to meet with the families of the abducted children and urged them to keep the matter under wraps.

The PKK has reportedly armed hundreds of children aged 11 to 16 and deployed them in combat roles. Its Syrian branches (PYD) and military wing (YPG) continue to exploit the economic and social vulnerabilities of families to recruit children, posing a significant threat to the future of Kurdish society

Observers condemn these actions as grave crimes against Kurdish children, depriving them of education and normal family life, which contravenes human values, Kurdish culture, and international law.

Furthermore, a recent UN report revealed that in 2023 alone, the PKK and its affiliates forcibly conscripted 231 children into their armed forces in Syria

Last month, the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US State Department reiterated concerns about the ongoing recruitment of children by the PKK and its associated groups in Syrian Kurdistan.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/854306

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PKK Kidnaps Another Girl

A group affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has kidnapped another girl in the area of Tel Rifaat, according to local media reports

The Revolutionary Youth, a wing of the PKK, abducted Fidan Hussein in the village of Halalka on the border of Afrin city in Syrian Kurdistan, intending to recruit her into their ranks.

This incident follows the recent kidnapping of another girl named Leila from the village of Shahbai in Aleppo. Leila, originally from the village of Qartaqlaq near Afrin, had fled to Aleppo before her abduction.

Reports indicate that earlier this month, PKK fighters kidnapped over 13 children in Syrian Kurdistan for recruitment purposes. Kurdish armed groups in Syrian Kurdistan, closely linked to the PKK, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), have faced accusations from human rights organizations for the kidnapping and recruitment of children.

Despite international calls to end these practices, these groups continue to abduct children, exacerbating the use of child soldiers in armed conflicts. In early June, the Syria Watch Network reported that the Revolutionary Youth had kidnapped over 50 minors in Syria since the beginning of this year

In June, Farhad Oso, director of the Syria Watch Network, told BasNews that these children are being recruited into the PKK's forces, with some sent to Qandil and Sinjar for combat operations.

He revealed that the PKK's youth wing has kidnapped more than 50 boys and girls from areas controlled by the PYD, subjecting them to ideological training courses similar to those conducted by extremist groups like Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Nusra. Many of these children face violence and beatings in the party's military camps.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/854531

[Anthea]

Turkey detains 13 for alleged PKK

support in viral videos

Turkish counter-terrorism forces on Saturday detained 13 suspects for allegedly appearing in viral videos showing them playing songs, and dancing while chanting slogans in support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)

Turkish state media Anadolu Agency reported that security forces in Istanbul, launched into social media videos showing a woman playing "PKK anthems" in her car, and another video of young individuals chanting slogans in support of the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

According to Anadolu, the Turkish counterterrorism teams launched simultaneous operations at 24 locations across 7 districts, detaining 13 suspects and seizing “digital material.”

Turkey used to do something similar years ago when they used to stop cars and raid homes looking for anything Kurdish such as books, anything written in Kurdish or about Kurds and cassettes

This comes days after a similar incident in the southern Mersin province, where security forces arrested 10 people for chanting slogans in support of Ocalan.

On Friday, Turkish police arrested six women in Siirt province for dancing in a video to a song that praises PKK fighters. The women were shown wearing traditional Kurdish clothes in the video.

The PKK is a Kurdish group that has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades in the struggle for greater Kurdish rights (should be an Independent Kurdistan) and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK fighters have intensified recently in the Kurdistan Region. This escalation in attacks is a part of Turkey’s stated plans to eradicate the Kurdish group along its southern border.

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is close to completing a zone that will “permanently resolve” the security issues along their border with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by summer.

Turkey has deployed a large number of troops in Duhok province since mid-June.

Erdogan said on Monday that Ankara would get revenge for one of their soldiers who was killed in Duhok, and all their losses in the region: “We are avenging all these losses. They are paying a very heavy price and will continue to do so.”

But Ankara’s relentless military strikes and the deployment of ground troops also have stoked fear in the villagers of Duhok province’s mountainous areas who fear displacement from their villages as mortar shells and constant gunfire prompt panic

Turkey has carried out more than 1,000 attacks on the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh province so far in 2024, according to conflict monitor Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) data.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... y/27072024

[Anthea]

SDF kidnaped 9 more minors

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) kidnapped nine minors in September in Syrian Kurdistan through a group known as “Revolutionary Youth,” which has close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a human rights network confirmed on Tuesday

“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue their policy of recruiting children and involving them in battlefields,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated in a report.

“The network has received evidence that 9 children have been kidnapped by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the so-called Revolutionary Youth in areas under their control in northeastern Syria, from where they are sent to training camps for arming and deployment to the battlefield,” the statement added.

Kurdish observers and activists confirm that PKK members continue to abduct minors from schools and workplaces, luring them into joining the party’s forces and involving them in combat

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has reportedly recruited hundreds of children aged 14 and 15 to fight its wars by exploiting their social circumstances.

Earlier this year, a UN annual report regarding the use of children in armed conflicts accused the PKK of kidnapping hundreds of children, arming them, and sending them to the frontlines.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/862135

[Anthea]

PYD Arming Children in Western Kurdistan

Prominent Democratic Union Party (PYD) leader Salih Muslim claims that the task of so-called revolutionary youth, led by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members, is to subject children aged 10 to 15 in Syrian Kurdistan to “intellectual courses.”

In an audio recording posted on social networks, Muslim stated that when children between the ages of 10 and 15 have problems with their families, the youth group accepts them and subjects them to intellectual courses.

"Instead of these children taking drugs and choosing the wrong path, young people take them and put them in intellectual courses," he said, without explaining the content of these courses.

The PYD leader acknowledged the spread of drugs in areas under PYD control in Syrian Kurdistan.

"After the course, these children will return to their families," he said, denying that so-called revolutionary youths kidnap minors and hand them over to the People's Defense Units and women’s units, where they have been accused of arming those children and sending them to the frontlines.

Farhad Oso, director of the Syrian Observatory Network, told BasNews that Saleh Muslim's statements indicate two possibilities: first, he may be disconnected from reality and unaware of the situation in the region, or he may be afraid of the possible reaction from a group with absolute authority over its actions in northeastern Syria.

"If Muslim is serious about his statements, we ask him to visit camps such as Sabah al-Khair, which houses more than 400 children between the ages of 12 and 15, and Jabal Abdulaziz, which houses hundreds of children," he said.

"Then he will see for himself whether they are intellectual or military courses," Oso explained.

In recent years, the United Nations and human rights organizations have accused the PYD and other PKK offshoots in Syrian Kurdistan of recruiting and kidnapping children and placing them in military camps.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/862862

I do NOT believe those in control of the PKK would knowingly let this happen, the PKK gained the respect and support of Kurds during it's fight for freedom and independence against genocidal Turkish government and would NOT want to lose the respect it's freedom fighters fought so hard to gain

I politely suggest the PKK leadership look into this disturbing accusation

[Anthea]

SDF Continues to Recruit Child Soldiers

A Syrian human rights organization reported on Friday that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and affiliated youth groups under the influence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have allegedly abducted and recruited ten children for military training in October

According to a statement from the Syria Watch for Human Rights, obtained by BasNews, “the SDF continues its policy of abducting minors to bring them to military camps and prepare them for battle.”

The report highlights that ten children from areas under SDF control in Western Kurdistan were allegedly removed from their families and taken to camps to be trained as child soldiers. This statement aligns with prior allegations by Human Rights Watch from early October, where the organization reported similar actions by youth groups connected to the self-administration of the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria also confirmed in a recent report that, despite agreements with international bodies to halt child recruitment, SDF forces continue this practice in their territories.

The report noted that the PYD administration has failed to respond to families’ pleas regarding the whereabouts of their children, with some parents expressing fear of retaliation for inquiring about their children’s status

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/865270