Report: Syrian Rebels Recruiting Children for Military Missions, Sexual Abuse

Local media reports in Syria voiced deep concern about alarming growth in the recruitment of children by rebel groups in the country, disclosing that these children are not just used for military missions, but for sexual abuse.

Chairman of Syria’s Committee for Family Affairs Insaf Hamd told al-Ahd news website that like human-trafficking, recruiting children is a crime both in Syria and in the world and is against all the relevant international laws and agreements.

“Recruiting children has been alarmingly growing since the start of the crisis in Syria,” he said, pointing to videos and photos posted on the internet or social websites such as You Tube about child soldiers in Syrian opposition groups.

Hamd said that these children are employed not just for carrying guns, but for doing other military missions in military posts, checkpoints and for guarding missions.

“This is a dangerous phenomenon which covers a range of crimes whose extent is way beyond carrying arms as it, in fact, includes crimes from carrying guns to sexual abuse of children by armed men,” the official warned.

Earlier reports had already unveiled that the notorious terrorist group, Al-Nusra Front, is using children as a human shield in clashes with the Syrian Army.

According to a March report by Cham Press news website, informed sources in Tunisian Salafist Takfiri groups acknowledged that a 10-year old boy, named Farouq al-Tunisi, was killed in clashes between the Syrian army and al-Nusra front as the terrorist group was using the kid to shield its members.

The sources said that Farouq along with his father were recruited by Al-Nusra Front and they were active in Syria since September.

The report said that a growing number of terrorists are now in Syria with their sons and the Nusra front is using these boys as human shields.

Earlier, a Libyan child was killed in the outskirts of Aleppo in clashes erupted between the Syrian army and al-Nusra which has been listed as a terrorist organization by many states even the United States.