US: YPG still recruits child soldiers in Syria

In its annual report on human trafficking, The United States said on Tuesday that the PKK's Syrian branch the armed People's Protection Units (YPG) continues to recruit children.

The report stated that children, boys and girls, younger than 15-years-old are used as militants and sometimes forced to fight against the wishes of their families.

The report said that the children in Syria and Iraq are helpless against the compulsory recruitment by armed groups such as the PKK, YPG, ISIS and Iranian militias.

It accused the Syrian government of not meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and not making significant efforts to do so.

The report recommended the Syrian government should “stop the forcible recruitment and use of child soldiers by government forces, pro-government militias, armed opposition forces, and designated terrorist organizations such as ISIS.”