Syrian child soldiers on the rise, UN warns

US partners in war on ISIS recruited almost 700 children last year

A Free Syrian Army fighter in front of a building destroyed during clashes in the Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus.

The recruitment of child soldiers in Syria is on the rise despite waning levels of violence, the UN has warned in a new report.

The number of children recruited by armed groups in Syria has risen steadily over the past three years – from 813 in 2020 to 1,296 in 2021 and 1,696 in 2022, the organisation said on Tuesday.

Almost 700 cases involve the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and its allies.

The Kurdish-led force operates in north-east Syria and is best known for its fight against ISIS and its female force the Women's Protection Units, which was also on the front lines against the terror group.

Its members continue to be targeted in attacks by ISIS remnants and Turkish forces, the latter leading to an invasion of SDF-held areas in October 2019, incurring huge losses.

In recent years, the SDF has acknowledged that it had child soldiers within its various umbrella groups, including the YPJ.

In 2019, SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi signed a UN action plan to end the practice, but child recruitment continued. In 2021, more than 50 child soldiers were returned to their families by the SDF, Kurdish media reports said.

Rebel groups have also recruited children the report said, with 611 cases linked to the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, and 383 to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, led by former members of an Al Qaeda-linked group.

The Syrian government and pro-government militias were found to have 25 children within their ranks.

Nodem Shero, a representative of one of the child protection offices run by the SDF-affiliated local administration, said children continue to be recruited in areas under SDF control.

However, the complaint mechanism is working, she told AP, with 20 complaints received in the first five months of 2023 and four children returned to their families. She said the others were not with the SDF.

The AP report also cited the case of Peyal Aqil, 13, who went missing in the town of Qamishli last month.

Her family said she was forced to join the SDF and managed to escape from a training camp.

“Her psychological condition has been difficult because she … was subjected to harsh training,” said her mother, Hamrin Alouji.