Human Rights Watch: Iran Sends Afghan Children to Syria War
Human Rights Watch accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of sending Afghan migrant children as soldiers to fight in the Syria war.
The organization reported on Sunday, October 1st, that Afghan children, some as young as 14 years old, are being employed in the Fatimiyoun Legion to fight alongside Iranian forces in Syria. International law classifies sending individuals under 15 years old to the front as a war crime.
The Human Rights Watch report is accompanied by photographs of the graves of eight Afghan teenagers buried in Iranian cemeteries, in sections dedicated to those killed in the Syria war.
The organization states that reports from Iranian media also confirm several of the mentioned cases, with some stating that at least six teenage Afghan soldiers have been killed in Syria.
Photographs of the graves of two Afghan victims show they were over 18 years old, but family members of these two told Iranian media that their ages had been altered so they could join the Fatimiyoun Legion.
Five of them were only 14 years old when buried in the Martyrs’ section of Behesht Zahra Cemetery in Tehran.
Human Rights Watch then adds that it was able to identify three other victims, two of whom were 17 years old and one was 15 years old.
The organization continued its report by reflecting the statement of Sara Leah Whitson, Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch, calling on Iranian authorities to end the recruitment of children and immediately withdraw them from the front.
She stated on this matter: “Instead of sacrificing vulnerable refugee children, Iranian authorities should protect them, and those who recruited them as soldiers should be brought to justice.”
Iran’s Interior Ministry estimated two years ago that approximately 2.5 million Afghans are in Iran, many of whom lack Iranian residence documents. Human Rights Watch, however, recently published a report stating that some Afghan refugees have volunteered to be sent to the Syria war hoping to obtain legal residence permits for their families.
These migrants formed the Fatimiyoun Legion, and the Tasnim News Agency reported their number at approximately 14,000.
Source: Radio Farda
