By Esref Musa
TEL ABYAD, Syria (AA) - The terrorist group YPG/PKK kidnapped a 14-year-old girl from Syria's northern Aleppo province to forcibly recruit her into its armed ranks.
Identified only by the initials A.M.H, the teenage girl from the occupied Manbij district was abducted by terrorists, Redor al-Ahmed, spokesperson for opposition Kurdish group Independent Kurdish Rabita, told Anadolu.
Ahmed said the terrorist group blocks the kidnapped minors from communicating with their families.
The PKK/YPG usually takes the kidnapped children and teens to terror camps for armed training – a violation of international law forbidding the use of minors in conflict.
- Terrorist group forcibly recruited 1,200 minors in 2022
The UN’s Children in Armed Conflict report for 2022 said the terrorist group PKK, along with its Syrian extensions the SDF and YPG, used more than 1,200 minors as combatants over the course of the year.
The report said the terrorist SDF recruited 637 children, while various structures affiliated with the PKK/YPG and SDF took 633 children into their ranks.
In the report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the use of children as fighters by the YPG/PKK and called for an end to this practice, urging the release of all minors within their ranks.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.