SDF hands over four minors to their families in Syria’s Hasakah
HASAKAH, Syria (North press) – On Monday, the Child Protection Office in Armed Conflicts in Hasakah, northeast Syria, handed over four minors, who had contacted the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the aim of joining them, to their families.
The Child Protection Offices in Armed Conflicts were established in all cities of northeast Syria after an agreement signed between the SDF Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi and the UN to prevent the recruitment of children and keep them away from wars.
“The SDF sent four minors to the Child Protection Office, which in turn handed them over to their families,” said Marwa Abdullah, co-chair of the Child Protection Office in Hasakah.
“We work in accordance with international laws signed between the Autonomous Administration and the UN, which do not allow the recruitment of minors,” she told North Press.
The children who were handed over to their parents were 14 years old.
Ruqaya al-Hamada, the mother of one of the children, said that she met her son today, three days after he left the house, as he tried to join the SDF.
During the past three days, the mother visited a number of SDF military units in the cities of Hasakah, al-Shaddadi and Qamishli, before one of them directed her to the Child Protection Office in Hasakah.
In 2021, the number of children who were handed over to their families has reached 43 minors, while 92 minors have been handed over since the establishment of the Child Protection Office in Armed Conflicts in Hasakah in October 2020.