9 complaints about child recruitment in Child Protection Office in northeast Syria
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – The Child Protection Office in Armed Conflicts in the Euphrates region, northern Syria, has registered nine new complaints of child recruitment since the beginning of July.
The Child Protection Office in Armed Conflict was established in all cities in northeast Syria after an agreement signed by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi, along with the United Nations, to prevent the recruitment of children into the SDF and affiliated forces.
Fathi Mahmoud, the co-chair of the Child Protection Office in the Euphrates region, told North Press on Sunday that the Child Protection Office recorded 53 complaints in 2021, while it recorded 36 complaints in 2020.
On Saturday, the Child Protection Office in the Euphrates region registered a new complaint about the recruitment of a minor, bringing the number of complaints to nine during the July, according to Mahmoud.
He added that about 38 minors were returned to their families by the Syrian Democratic Forces so far, including 18 cases who were returned through the Child Protection Office in the Euphrates region, “and there are other minors who were returned without any complaints by their families.”
The Child Protection Office follows up on complaints formally submitted to it regarding child recruitment, he further explained.
The SDF periodically follow up the data of all those affiliated with it, verify their ages, reject the requests of minors, and hand them over to their families, according to Mahmoud.
On January 2021, the Child Protection Office in Kobani handed over a minor to his family who joined SDF military forces.
On December 16, the Child Protection Office in Kobani, in coordination with the Military Council, handed over two minor girls who had joined the ranks of the SDF to their parents.
The AANES Executive Council established the Child Protection Office in all cities of the region late in August.