How PKK terror group lures, forces minors to create army of child soldiers

In its annual report on ‘Children and Armed Conflict’, the UN has said that in 2022 the PKK terrorist group recruited more than 1,200 children to carry out its violent agenda.

The just-released data, also detailed in the Child Soldiers Global Report 2001, reconfirm that the use of child soldiers – which the PKK initiated in 1994 – continues to this day.

For years, the PKK proudly published information about its so-called "martyrs" on its website, providing evidence of child soldiers carrying out terror activities.

The organisation even used information on its children members as material for propaganda and indoctrination.

For instance, a video shared by a now-deactivated social media account @SeriHill in 2018 showed Kalashnikov-wielding children estimated to be younger than seven.

The Western media has for long followed the agenda of the US-led coalition, which has legitimised terror organisations it has itself branded as “democratic forces” – under the pretext of fighting another terrorist organisation, the Daesh.

And this agenda of backing “good terrorists” to fight “bad terrorists” have led to Western nations and media turning a blind eye to child soldiers in Syria while lecturing others on human rights and related issues.

For example, in October 2014, the highly-circulated fashion magazine Marie Claire published a photo of three children in an article entitled ‘These Remarkable Women Are Fighting ISIS. It’s Time You Know Who They Are’, using the Western term for the Daesh terror outfit.

The magazine did use a disclaimer – “The efforts of the YPJ are remarkable but Marie Claire does not condone the use of child soldiers in any capacity” – but failed to hide its admiration for the child soldiers, comparing their time in the terrorist organisation to attending a fun-filled summer camp in America.

After years of extensive dissemination of similar propagandistic materials, PKK was forced to back off after it became clear to its leadership that no ideology could legitimise recruiting child soldiers.

Chilling evidence

Despite international reaction, the PKK – facing difficulties in attaining legitimacy and encountering challenges in recruitment –persisted in coercively and covertly employing children in their ranks.

And this trend continues to date, with the PKK not only deploying child soldiers in various terror attacks and armed conflicts but also subjecting them to ideological manipulation and, distressingly, sexual exploitation.

Over the years, security and intelligence agencies have uncovered evidence of individual PKK terrorists engaged in recruiting and training children.

For example, a PKK member codenamed Cahide – whose real name is Latife Kaya – was responsible for kidnapping young girls to join the organisation, and is believed to have recruited around 500 children into the outfit’s ranks.

Kaya was killed by members of the Miranda tribe – which is an anti-PKK group – in the Syrian city of Qamishli after she was found to have kidnapped a 17-year-old tribal girl.

In addition, the organisation is also involved in large scale indoctrination of children, as evidenced in the BBC documentary ‘Her War: Women vs. ISIS’ on PKK’s recruits into its women’s wing, the YPJ.

The documentary featured a YPJ member named Beritan Sela, who is on record saying that they host and train young people aged 17-18.

Another YPJ member, known by the alias Tolheldan and featured in the documentary, admitted to being involved in training young girls at a camp named ‘Martyr Berivan’.

The PKK is also using deception and coercion to recruit children. Women in the Turkish province of Diyarbakir, who are also known as Diyarbakir Mothers and staged protests demanding the return of their children, said that some of their children were kidnapped from school picnics or private classes.

There are other instances of PKK’s terror tactics.

An under-14 boy who had managed to escape from a YPG camp said that his father – who had fought for the outfit – had tried to return him home but was prevented by other YPG members.

A 14-year-old Yezidi girl, too, had escaped from the terror group and later said she didn’t want to fight for an organisation that kills Yezidis daily.

The discourse the organisation uses to persuade and deceive children aims to exploit their vulnerability and sensitivity.

It is all about instilling a sense of devotion in children by emphasising the importance of so-called protection of the “Kurdish nation”, providing subtle ideological enlightenment by placing educators in dedicated courses and instilling the ideology of Abdullah Ocalan, the founder and ringleader of PKK now serving a prison term in Türkiye.

The organisation’s methods also include persuading children, especially girls, that they claim these girls are ‘contributing’ to women’s liberation, gaining personal freedom, or reuniting with long-missing loved ones who previously joined the ranks.

Material support is offered to children from financially disadvantaged families.

In YPG-controlled areas, there have been attempts to introduce paid military service schemes. In 2016, a mandatory military service scheme for people over 16 was introduced in Manbij and the surrounding area, with a pledge of $100 USD each.

Dilemmas and risks

The exploitation of children, which begins as early as the recruitment process, continues in various forms throughout membership of the organisation.

In 2014, UNICEF said PKK’s use of child soldiers is against international law and demanded that these children be immediately returned to their families.

A former PKK member known as Z.T. had claimed to have witnessed more than a dozen incidents of sexual assault on minors in the terrorist group.

In mountainous regions, child deaths mainly occur due to malnutrition and infectious diseases. Studies show that children kidnapped by the PKK survive an average of four to six years under such conditions.

It has been reported that alcohol and drugs are given to children to desensitise them, and psychotropic substances have been detected in the blood of some members. Seizure of drugs during operations against the organisation confirms such practices.

The organisation recruits children intending to create a loyal cadre base. An article published in Berlingske Tidende in 2010 stated that in PKK camps, around a thousand children as young as nine are taught about Ocalan’s life.

Additionally, children have been used in political actions, for example, seven children were included in a hunger strike at the Mersin prison to demand the freedom of Ocalan.

For a child who becomes a member of the PKK, it is impossible to leave the organisation voluntarily.

Nurman Ibrahim Khalifa, a 13-year-old who managed to escape from the organisation, witnessed the tragic fate of a girl who had been forcibly recruited years before.

The girl, in her 8th attempt to escape at the age of 18, was captured and publicly executed by a PKK terrorist, and her body was thrown into a lake.

Children recruited through persuasion or deception find themselves exposed to conditions unsuitable for their mental and physical well-being.

Moreover, if caught, they are coerced into engaging in illegal activities and are subject to the legal process and penalties imposed by the justice system. These children are essentially being prepared to fight for an ideology they may not fully comprehend.

Those who manage to escape from such organisations encounter difficulties in readjusting to society and risk being ideologically influenced upon their return.

International law

Terrorist organisations worldwide exploit and manipulate children to serve their own goals and fulfil their sinister agenda.

The term “A child associated with an armed force or armed group” was defined in the 2007 Paris Principles as “any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities.”

In the 1998 Rome Statute, the use of child soldiers was regulated as a war crime, and the age limit was set at 15. The International Criminal Court has recently prosecuted terrorist leaders for using child soldiers.

Bosco Ntaganda, the leader of the M23 terrorist organisation in Congo, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for forcibly recruiting children, subjecting child soldiers to sexual violence, and using them as sex slaves.

In another instance, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for forcibly recruiting children under 15 and using them in conflicts.

The time is now ripe for an in-depth investigation into the systematic crimes committed by the PKK terror group. The UN Security Council can set the ball rolling by referring the PKK’s cases to the ICC.