The PKK terrorist group’s Syrian affiliate, the YPG, has forcibly recruited 17 more children in the last two days in the Syrian provinces of Hasakah and Aleppo, which they have occupied since 2015, sources told Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency (AA).

The terrorist group, which has increased the number of "checkpoints" on main roads and especially in front of schools, has accelerated child abductions in the two provinces, according to the sources.

It kidnapped six children Wednesday in Hasakah city center after high school final exams, and Thursday seven children from the Qamishli district and four children from Aleppo's Manbij district.

1,696 children in Syria recruited

Nearly 1,700 children were recruited and used by the PKK – designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union – and its offshoot, the YPG, in 2022 in Syria, according to a U.N. report.

The annual U.N. report on children in armed conflict covers January to December 2022.

It said 32 children as young as 11 were also recruited and used in Iraq.

"I am gravely concerned by the recruitment and use of children by the PKK. I urge them to end the recruitment and use of children and to release all children from its ranks," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report.

As many as 1,696 children in Syria were recruited used mostly by PKK/YPG and other armed groups and non-state actors. The PKK/YPG alone recruited and used 1,270 children of that total.

Local people living in areas held by the PKK/YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights violations, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in Syria.

The PKK/YPG has forced young people from areas under its control to join its terrorist forces within the so-called "compulsory conscription in the duty of self-defense," something that has been repeatedly documented and criticized by international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW). The group reportedly tricks parents into giving up their children or outright kidnaps them, taking them to training camps where they are denied contact with their families.

Since its foundation, the PKK has forcibly taken at least one child from families that fail to "pay taxes" to support the group. To fill its ranks, the PKK has continuously raided villages and kidnapped young adults aged 15 to 20 through violent means.

The terrorist organization cares a great deal about women and young people's support, and there is no age restriction in the organization. Every person who can function independently from their parents is considered an adult. In order to lure young people, it emphasizes values such as heroism and sacrifice and tries to influence young people psychologically.

Besides forced "conscription," the PKK also carries out propaganda campaigns targeting university students. The terrorist group's approach has remained consistent, according to statements by captured or surrendered members of the organization.

The PKK/YPG continues to recruit minors despite signing an agreement with the U.N. for their release.