By Kemal Karadag
ANKARA (AA) - The children deceived, abducted, and taken to the mountains by the YPG/PKK terror group were promised that they would return to their families after receiving "training" for a while, revealed those who escaped from the terror group’s captivity.
A total of 15 children, including two Syrian nationals, who were forcibly recruited by the terror group, are defined as "victims of human trafficking" by Turkiye's Immigration Management Directorate.
Interviews with children aged 9 to 17 years revealed how they were deceived and persecuted by the YPG/PKK terror group.
A Syrian national who escaped from the YPG/PKK group, which he joined at the age of 14, recalled: “They (terrorists) said we will take you to a place in the Derik region, train you and send you back. You will return to your home again.”
“After completing the training, we realized that they have no intention to send us back. They wanted us to become guerrilla fighters and to forget about our families,” he said.
“They told us that Turkiye is our biggest enemy,” he recalled, saying the terrorists also used "psychological pressure" to prevent anyone from leaving.
“I am very glad that I escaped. When I came back, there was a law of remorse. I was tried under the remorse law.”
The terror group's recruitment and exploitation of children in the conflict-hit country were also reflected in UN reports.
On Jan. 16, 2020, the UN Human Rights Council shared findings that YPG/PKK terrorists are using children as fighters in Syria.
The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, a designated terror group in the US, EU, and Turkiye. The US support for the YPG-led SDF has significantly strained relations with Ankara.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.