Rmeilan, Syria - A year and a half ago, the rich oil fields of Rmeilan in the Hasakah province of northeastern Syria were the scene of intense battles between Kurdish forces, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), and the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra.
Evidence of the deadly battles across the arid land remain: Long, deep trenches, piles of sandbags and sniper positions stretch into the distance, where snow-capped mountains rise. But today, rather than Jabhat al-Nusra, the threat comes from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
In Rmeilan, amid the thick smoky air from nearby oil refineries, a heavily fortified Kurdish military base is filled with more than 20 teenage members of the YPJ, the female branch of the YPG.
Wearing military uniforms and holding Kalashnikov rifles, the girls - all under 18 - say they are ready to take on ISIL.
"As soon as I joined the YPJ, I found my truth and that is, the truth about our history and of Kurdistan," Dilocan, a slight 14-year-old with long brown hair, told Al Jazeera. "I came here because armed terrorists are trying to take over our land. Our land is our honour. Many martyrs [have] died trying to protect it."
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In late 2013, the YPG issued a military order prohibiting the recruitment of people under the age of 18. International law prohibits the use of children as participants in direct hostilities, including at checkpoints, spying and in combat.
After a scathing Human Rights Watch report in June that criticised the Kurds' use of child soldiers, the YPG and the region's self-declared autonomous government signed the "Deed of Commitment", a document produced by the Switzerland-based organisation Geneva Call, aimed at protecting children in armed conflict.
As a result, the YPG was forced to demobilise 149 child soldiers from its ranks. The YPG also created a new "non-combat" category for children between 16 and 18, allowing them to be involved in the group's political and educational activities.
Despite this commitment, Al Jazeera met countless underage fighters at bases, checkpoints and frontlines across the region. The YPG's official spokesperson, Redur Khalil, said that while efforts had been made to demobilise all children from its ranks, cases still existed.
"It is not completely strange that cases still exist," Khalil told Al Jazeera. "When we find more underage kids, we hand them over to the Defence Committee. Anyone under 18, without using weapons, is still allowed to work but in special camps away from the frontline."
Read more:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/underage-kurds-battle-isil-syria-201412793714184188.html
