YPG/PKK recruited 250 children in 2021: UN

UNITED NATIONS

The terrorist organization YPG/PKK has recruited nearly 250 children in Syria, according to the annual U.N. report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), released on July 11, detailing the devastating impact various forms of conflict had on children around the world in 2021.

According to the report, the “Internal Security Forces,” operating in northern and eastern Syria, recruited 24 children, while the “Afrin Liberation Forces” took two children into the terrorist organization.

The report also pointed out that the “Internal Security Forces” imprisoned 43 children and the YPG/PKK six children.

It also stated that the YPG/PKK killed 55 children, while the “Afrin Liberation Forces” and the “Internal Security Forces” killed 18 children in Syria in 2021.

The report noted that the terrorist organizations prevented access to humanitarian aid for children.

The annual report of Children and Armed Conflict published by the U.N. includes a list of parties engaging in violations against children, namely the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children and attacks on schools, hospitals and protected persons.

The report highlighted 23,982 verified grave violations against children overall. For 15 percent of those violations, perpetrators could not be identified, making subsequent accountability extremely challenging.

According to the report, at least 5,000 girls and 13,000 boys were victims of grave violations in 21 country situations and one region.

Over 8,000 children were killed or maimed, increasingly by explosive remnants of wars, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines, which affected some 2,000 children.