Sun Feb 07, 2016 12:23
Militants Deploy Child Soldiers to Fight in Syria's Aleppo
TEHRAN (FNA)- At least four different terrorist groups have begun to use child soldiers in their fight against the Syrian government forces in Aleppo province after the latter launched a large-scale offensive to capture the militant-held regions of the province in the North.
The Syrian army confirmed that the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Ahrar al-Sham, and Harakat Nouriddeen al-Zinki have used children as fresh combatants in a number of firefights to fight against the government forces in the Northern part of Aleppo .
Some of the children were described as “pre-teen” and unable to properly fire the automatic rifles they were being sent to battle with.
The latest child soldier to be killed in Northern Aleppo was identified as Mohammad Qassem.
Qassem was reportedly killed at the battle of Ratyan when the government forces overran the militants' defense lines.
It appears that a severe lack of manpower for the Islamist rebels has left them in a chaotic state that has their leadership deploying children to fight their battles against the Syrian government forces and their allies in Northern Syria.
Earlier reports said that the Syrian pro-government forces pushed the militant groups back from more territories in the Southern parts of Aleppo province and restored security to one more village following hours of heavy clashes.
The Syrian Army, the National Defense Forces (NDF), Kataebat al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions”, and the Palestinian “Liwa Al-Quds” (Jerusalem Brigade) imposed full control over the important village of al-Khalidiyah along the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5 Highway).
The Syrian Armed Forces and their allies launched a counter-attack against al-Nusra Front, Harakat Nouriddeen al-Zinki, Liwa Suqour al-Sham, and Harakat Ahrar al-Sham from their positions at the strategic town of Khan Touman, killing several enemy combatants before they fled South from al-Khalidiyah.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941118000547
