{"id":12482,"date":"2021-03-10T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T05:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/syria-libya-child-soldiers-stranded-at-mitiga-international-airport\/"},"modified":"2021-12-13T07:24:21","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T04:24:21","slug":"syria-libya-child-soldiers-stranded-at-mitiga-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/en\/syria-libya-child-soldiers-stranded-at-mitiga-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria-Libya: Child Soldiers Stranded at Mitiga International Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since late 2019, Syrian fighters have been recruited to join the war in Libya as mercenaries within the ranks of the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and backed by Turkey, or the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and backed by Russia and other countries. While covering the recruitment of Syrian mercenaries to Libya, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) obtained evidence that Turkey and allied forces,[1]<\/sup><\/a> particularly the armed groups it backs, enlisted<\/a> dozens of children under 18 to fight in Libya as mercenaries throughout 2020.<\/p>\n

According to sources from the opposition-affiliated Syrian National Army (SNA), Turkish authorities have lately sought to tighten restrictions on child recruitment. In May 2019, the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) stated that the SNA had stopped enlisting or accepting child volunteers as mercenaries, implying that child recruitment had previously occurred. However, testimonies and accounts prove that Syrian children continued to be recruited even after May 2019, and dozens of these child soldiers were still in Libya as late as February 2021.<\/p>\n

STJ obtained testimonies from fighters who returned to Syria over the second half of 2020. Their testimonies confirm that nearly 200 child recruits are stranded in the Libyan city of Tripoli at a military camp in the vicinity of Mitiga International Airport<\/a>. Other children remain on duty, performing mercenary military tasks. Furthermore, one of the testimonies obtained by STJ\u2014the first of its kind\u2014reveals that the pro-GNA Libyan Liwa al-Sumood (Brigade of Steadfastness), led by Salah Badi, has been recruiting Syrian fighters, including children, apart from Turkey and SNA armed groups.<\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    Child Soldiers in Libya <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    On 19 May 2020, the SIG\u2019s Ministry of Defense (General Staff) made a statement<\/a> prohibiting the recruitment of children under 18 or admitting child volunteers \u00a0into the SNA. In the same statement, the ministry demanded the immediate discharge of enlisted children. STJ spoke to a source from the Public Relations Office of the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF). He said:<\/p>\n

    \u201cIn June 2020, the Turkish government imposed travel bans on under-18 children and over-45 adults, intending to join the fight in Libya. The decision was enforced after several Syrian child recruits died in Libya causing the Turkish government public embarrassment.\u201d<\/p>\n

    According to the source, two commanders\u2014Hamido al-Jhaishi and another called Junaid\u2014of the Liwa Sultan Murad\/Sultan Murad Division were responsible for brokering the greatest number of child enlistments. The source also confirmed that, last June, Turkey<\/em> returned at least 20 children preparing to travel to Libya with fighters of the Suleiman Shah Brigade (al-Amshat) and the Liwa Soqour al-Samal(Northern Hawks Brigade).<\/em><\/p>\n

    Additionally, the source added that the Turkish government demanded that SNA armed groups return Syrian child recruits in Libya, threatening to forfeit the salaries and hold accountable commanders who failed to abide by the new orders. However, despite these statements and attempts, in practice, child recruitment continues. Several of the sources interviewed by STJ confirmed that, at the time of reporting, Syrian child soldiers were still in Libya.<\/p>\n

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    Image 1- The statement made by the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Interim Government, prohibiting child enlistment.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

    In this section, STJ lists the testimonies of three fighters who confirmed seeing child recruits in battlegrounds and other military locations where they were deployed as mercenaries, as well as the testimony of a medical source who treated injured child recruits.<\/p>\n