Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) and the Barzani-linked Kurdish National Council of Syria (ENKS) have been accused of recruiting children for combat in northern Syria, for deployment in conflict regions such as Libya.
According to a recent investigation by Lekolin.org, the ENKS, in collaboration with Turkey’s MİT, has been actively recruiting children in territories like Afrin (Efrin), Tel Abyad (Girê Spî) and Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniye). This recruitment is allegedly part of a strategy to consolidate Turkey’s occupation of these areas, leveraging the council’s connections with the influential Barzani family from Iraqi Kurdistan.
The case of 16-year-old Melêk Mistefa Qedûr in March 2024 was detailed to highlight this issue. Allegedly, MİT agents facilitated his transfer across Syrian territories to be integrated into militant groups. ENKS reportedly manipulated the narrative around Melêk’s situation, falsely accusing the Revolutionary Youth (Ciwanên Şoreşger), a group close to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of abducting him, as part of a broader misinformation campaign.
The SDF has categorically denied allegations of recruiting children for combat in Syria, emphasising their adherence to international treaties, and highlighting a commitment to a 2019 UN Action Plan to end the use of child soldiers.
Additional findings by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reveal that children from Idlib and northern Aleppo are recruited under false pretexts of employment, only to be sent to conflict zones like Libya, often resulting in their deaths.
