PKK continues to recruit children in Iraq’s Sinjar

DUHOK (AA) – The PKK terrorist group continues to recruit children by force in Iraq’s northern Sinjar district, an Iraqi tribal spokesman said on Monday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Muhasim al-Huwaysi, a spokesman for the Arab tribes in Mosul, said more than 100 children have been kidnapped by the terrorist group in Sinjar.

"After being trained, those children are sent to fight alongside YPG/PKK forces,” he said.

According to the spokesman, the kidnapped children hail to various ethnic groups in the area.

Huwaysi said the terrorist group has dug more than 150 tunnels in Sinjar.

"These tunnels are located near Sinjar Mountain and district center,” he said, adding that the PKK was storing weapons in these tunnels.

“The PKK terrorists also use these places to take shelter in case of an attack," he said.

According to the spokesman, the PKK has five camps in Sinjar, each of which has around 1,000 militants.

Huwaysi called on Turkey to intervene to clear the area from PKK terrorists.

"We, as leaders of Mosul's Arab tribes, approve Turkey's intervention to put an end to the PKK actions in the region," he said.

"The terrorists constantly switch between Sinjar and Syria," he said, adding that there was weapons trafficking trade across border areas.

Huwaysi said the PKK was forcefully collecting money at various checkpoints erected by the terrorist group in the area.

In mid-2014, the PKK sent fighters to Sinjar -- from Syria and Iraq’ northeastern Qandil region -- on the pretext that it was protecting Ezidis from the Daesh terrorist group.

But even though the region was later cleared of Daesh terrorists, the PKK has continued its expansionist policies in the area.

In October of last year, the Iraqi government sent federal troops into parts of northern Iraq “disputed” between it and the Kurdish Regional Government -- including Sinjar.

After federal forces moved into Sinjar, the PKK falsely claimed to have withdrawn from the region.