YPG/PKK terrorists kidnap 4 children in northern Syria

By Mohamad Misto and Ethem Emre Ozcan

ANKARA / AL-HASAKAH, Syria (AA) - The terrorist group YPG/PKK last week kidnapped four more children in northern Syria, including two girls, and recruited them by force, according to local sources.

YPG/PKK terrorists continue to kidnap children in areas under the terror group’s occupation, the sources said.

The terrorists kidnapped a total of four children, two of them in Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, and the others in the Qamishli and Dirbasiye districts in the Al-Hasakah province.

Due to fear of the YPG/PKK terrorists, some of the Syrian families felt unable to speak about the plight of their children kidnapped by the group. Some of the families raised their concerns on social media and pleaded for their children’s release.

Last month, terrorists kidnapped at least four young women age 11 to 17.

The terrorists indoctrinate children and provided them with weapons training.

According to the US Trafficking in Persons Report 2020, the YPG in northwest Syria continues to recruit, train, and use boys and girls as young as 12 years old.

The report added that the YPG also forcibly recruits children from displacement camps in northeastern Syria.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN figures.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar