SYRIA: Despite clashes winding down, recruitment of children by armed groups is on the rise

A 13-year-old Syrian went missing last month while returning from a school exam, after being approached by a person linked to an armed group. Her parents were quick enough to fear the worst – that she had been taken to one of the group’s training camps.

Peyal Aqil was with her friends when she was approached by a recruiter for a group called the Revolutionary Youth. The Kurdish girl followed him to one of the group’s centres. Her friends waited for her outside but she never came out.

The girl’s mother, Hamrin Alouji, said she complained about her child’s sudden disappearance into the centre to local authorities, but to no avail. The group later said the girl had joined them willingly, a claim swiftly rejected by Alouji.

New UN Report On Recruitment Reveals Shocking Details

Armed groups have continued to recruit children throughout the years-long brutal conflict in Syria. Despite fighting winding down in most parts of the country, the use of child soldiers is growing, a new UN report on recruitment revealed Tuesday.

The past three years have seen the number of children getting recruited into armed groups substantially rising – 813 in 2020, 1,296 in 2021, and 1,696 in 2022, the UN says. Among those allegedly recruiting children is the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The UN report also blamed the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al Sham. Furthermore, the report confirmed 25 cases of child recruitment by Syrian government forces and pro-government militias.

Peyal Returned Home. But …

According to Bassam Alahmad, children are being recruited across Syria. While in some cases, the kids are being brought in forcibly, in others, minors choose to sign up willingly as they or their families need the money, the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice said.

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Some join for ideological reasons. In some cases, the recruited kids are sent out of the country to engage in other battles as mercenaries. Attempts to end such recruitment are ongoing but have been complicated by the patchwork of armed groups operating in each part of Syria.

Peyal returned home, a month after her May 21 disappearance. According to her mother, the girl had run away from one of the group’s camps. “Her psychological condition has [lately] been difficult” as she had to undergo harsh training, Alouji said.