PKK recruits children in camps: US report

BOGOTA- Anadolu Agency

The YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK terror organization, has been recruiting child soldiers from displacement camps in northeastern Syria despite pledges to stop the practice, according to a new U.S. Lead Inspector General’s report.

The report, which quotes the annual report on Trafficking in Persons issued by the State Department, says that although in July 2019 the SDF, a rebranded version of the YPG terror group, adopted a U.N. Security Council Resolution-mandated action plan to end the use and recruitment of children for military training within their ranks, the group is still resorting to such practices.

The PKK/YPG has long been known to recruit boys and girls aged 10-16 from vulnerable families in displacement camps and send them to training camps without telling their parents the whereabouts of their children.

International law prohibits non-state armed groups from recruiting anyone under 18, and enlisting children under 15 is considered a war crime.

The PKK- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU- has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, killing thousands of people.