Connect with us

Latest News

HRW reports surge in Taliban child soldier recruitment

Published

on

(Last Updated On: October 25, 2022)

militants-train-Afghan-children_censored-665x373

Taliban forces in Afghanistan have added scores of children to their ranks since mid-2015 in violation of the international prohibition on the use of child soldiers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

New Human Rights Watch research shows that the Taliban have been training and deploying children for various military operations including the production and planting of improvised explosive devices (IED).

In Kunduz province, the Taliban have increasingly used madrasas, or Islamic religious schools, to provide military training to children between the ages of 13 and 17, many of whom have been deployed in combat.

Although the Taliban have recruited child soldiers since the 1990s, local residents and analysts said they believe an increase in child soldiers over the last 12 months was largely due to the insurgents’ major offensive in northern Afghanistan, which began in April 2015.

Under international humanitarian law, the deployment of people under the age of 15 is considered a war crime.

Human Rights Watch interviewed relatives of 13 children recruited as Taliban soldiers over the past year, and verified these claims through interviews with civil society activists, political analysts, and the United Nations.

Despite Taliban claims that they only enlist fighters who have achieved “mental and physical maturity,” and do not use “boys with no beards” in military operations, some of the children recruited from madrasas in Kunduz, Takhar, and Badakhshan provinces are 13 or younger.

The Taliban have previously denied“the use of children and adolescents in Jihadic Operations,” but its deployment of individuals under the age of 18 violates international law applicable in Afghanistan and in cases involving children under 15 is a war crime.

The report suggests that the government and military forces (US and NATO) ban madrasas and teaching of religious education by evoking ‘The Optional Protocol’ in the ‘Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict’ found in International Humanitarian Law.

The Taliban madrasas attract many poor families because the Taliban cover their expenses and provide food and clothing for the children.

In some cases they offer cash to families for sending their boys to the madrasas. An expert on Kunduz told Human Rights Watch that traditionally, even before the Taliban established madrasas in these areas, rural and village families sent at least one son to the local madrasa because of the prestige associated with the status of becoming a mullah (someone educated in the basics of Islamic law).

In the cases of child soldiers Human Rights Watch investigated, some boys attended the madrasas in the early morning hours and then attended government schools later in the day.

Other boys who had been recruited attended the madrasas full time. For example, “Razeq,” (a pseudonym) 16, a resident of Chahardara district in Kunduz province, is a student in Class 6 at a government-run school, which he attends between 8 a.m. and noon every day. Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. he attends a madrasa controlled by Malawi Abdul Haq, a Taliban commander in the district.

As of late 2015, the madrasa had about 80 students, most of them children between the ages of 13 and 17. All of them are vulnerable to recruitment.

Moreover this move by HRW is a clear indication that the war on Madrasas is not over especially after the women right organizations voiced their concerns recently, followed by an Al Jazeera documentary of Madrasas in Kunduz which towed the same line as HRW and this theme was again picked up by Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah urging Taliban to stop using child soldiers recruited from Madrasas in their latest speeches, which essentially consisted of extending an olive branch or rather the branch of surrender and shame to the Taliban.

Advertisement

Latest News

TAPI gas company CEO satisfied with project’s progress

Published

on

(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

The minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar met with the executive director of the TAPI project and the ambassador of Turkmenistan in Kabul on Thursday to discuss progress around the key project.

Murad Amanov, head of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline project, expressed his satisfaction with the recent progress of the project and talked about the practical roll out of the project.

Delawar said that the preliminary work of TAPI is progressing quickly and that the pipeline will be put into operation in the near future.

TAPI is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.

Continue Reading

Latest News

UK’s Mercer faces 10-day deadline in Afghanistan war crimes inquiry

Published

on

(Last Updated On: March 27, 2024)

Johnny Mercer, the former UK Minister for Veterans Affairs, has been given 10 days to reveal the source of allegations that British troops engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan, or face a potential prison sentence.

British media reported on Tuesday that Mercer, following his allegations regarding the killing of Afghan civilians by British forces, was ordered to reveal the sources of his information.

The BBC reported that a public inquiry commissioned by the UK government into the actions of its forces in Afghanistan has directed Mercer to disclose the names of individuals who leaked information to him about alleged war crimes and cover-ups by special forces, or he may face imprisonment.

Although separate investigations have sought to verify these claims, the British government has yet to officially confirm them.

Earlier this month, Mercer, who served in military missions in Afghanistan, told the court that despite the information he possesses, he cannot confirm the killing of Afghan civilians by British forces between 2010 and 2013.

In court, he also stated that the claim British soldiers killed unarmed civilians in their sleep does not contradict his findings, but he admitted reluctance to believe it.

According to Mercer, British forces were allegedly instructed to carry an unregistered weapon — one not associated with NATO forces — to place next to the unarmed Afghan individuals they had killed.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the countries that had troops in Afghanistan for 20 years all committed war crimes.

Mujahid stated that if the investigation carries on, it will be a big step and that the crimes committed should be investigated transparently.

“The crimes that have been committed should be investigated transparently because this was not the work of a few soldiers but a plan that was drawn and crimes were committed in Afghanistan,” he added.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Floods leave two dead in Faryab and Sar-e-Pul

Published

on

(Last Updated On: March 27, 2024)

Local officials in Faryab and Sar-e-Pul say heavy rain and floods have claimed two lives in these two provinces.

Rain and floods also caused widespread damage and financial losses.

In addition to the loss of lives and money, floods have closed roads in some districts in these two provinces, officials said.

According to them, the destruction of agricultural lands, residential houses, and bridges is widespread and has made life difficult for the people.

Meanwhile, the families who suffered losses during the floods are demanding immediate assistance from the government and aid agencies.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 Ariana News. All rights reserved!