HRW: There are Child Soldiers in HPG and YBŞ

Click to read the article in Turkish

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has declared that People’s Defense Forces (HPG) and Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) have Kurdish and Yezidi children within their bodies and it contravenes international law, and called on these organizations to put an end to this situation.

Reminding that including children under 15 is a war crime, the HRW emphasized that these organizations cannot recruit anybody under 18 according to international law.

Stating that HPG needs to launch an insider investigation into the ones who seize or abuse children, said that Iraqi government, which pays salaries of YBS forces, needs to pressure on the group to have the child soldier cases be ended. (YY/TK)