Years after the establishment of the Autonomous Administration dominated by Kurds in north and east Syria (NES), child recruitment within different military groups is pushing back Kurdish aims for global legitimacy in Rojava. Several cases of youth missing have been reported, for example, the disappearance of a 16-year-old Syrian Kurdish high school student. The teenage girl, Rawan Aleku, has been missing since October 8th, 2020. Since then, there have been no reports on her return. Referring to several interviews with local media, her father, Umran, stated that “his daughter was kidnapped by an armed group who then handed the girl to another group.” In the meantime, he has sent his appeal to all international, local, and humanitarian organizations, political figures, and independent people, mentioning that his case is not a political or sectarian issue. Also, he specifically mentioned the commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the “highest authority” in Northeast Syria, Mazlum Kobane, in his appeals. He has asked for Kobane’s personal intervention to end his suffering, saying that Kobane is the only remaining hope for them. Furthermore, Umran stated in an interview with local media outlet Arknews that “I have tried every avenue within the autonomous administration’s institutions to get my daughter back.” He also wrote in a Facebook post on November 10th saying “Return my daughter Rawan Aleku to me, if you are honest. The pain of her disappearance is killing me. I’m fighting to get her back whatever it costs me, even my life.” On the other hand, Rawan’s relative Farhad Osso, a human rights activist based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq stated for Arab News that the teenage girl “had been kidnapped after her friend’s mother took her to the local Kurdish security office.” Osso also said that 80 similar cases have been documented by fellow human rights activists where SDF forcibly recruit teenagers.

Hundreds of children have been forcibly recruited by armed groups to fight in the battle in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and especially Syria. In 2021 alone, 442 children were forcibly recruited by the SDF, YPG, and YPJ. Many of them were killed on the Iraqi-Syrian border during the fight against ISIS. In many Rojava Kurdish homes, the photographs of “martyred” children are proudly demonstrated. All these came out at a time the Kurds in Rojava seek a more stable and secure life away from war.

Umran referred to the "Ciwanen Shoresger," or Revolutionary Youth, a pro-PKK armed group, as the kidnappers of his daughter. He also stated that Rawan could have been handed to the female-based unit, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). The YPJ and its male counterpart, the People's Protection Units (YPG), are supported by Kobane’s SDF. The UN has named the SDF, YPG, and YPJ as recruiters of children in violation of international law. However, together with a Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, Kobane signed an action plan on June 29th, 2019 in Geneva “to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, to identify and separate boys and girls currently within its ranks, and to put in place preventative protection and disciplinary measures related to child recruitment and use.” A month later, the Child Protection Office was opened in the Autonomous Administration to combat child recruitment.

Another member of the Aleku family told Al-Monitor that their 13-year-old nephew, Lewend, was forcefully taken by the PKK in 2015 to their headquarters in the Qandil Mountains. “They trained him for two years and sent him as a soldier back to Syria. He was martyred in Deir ez-Zor in 2019,” he said. “There are no formal estimates for the number of children who have been forcibly recruited in northeast Syria. The UN said that between January and July of 2022, 51 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 had been removed from the ranks of the YPJ and housed in a rehabilitation center, while 18 boys were in the process of being released by YPG at the time of reporting,” Al-Monitor reported. 50 complaints have been received by The Child Protection Office since opening its doors and had returned around 15 children to their families. In a July interview, Kobane declared that “he regarded the practice as unacceptable and that perpetrators would be punished”. There have been no prosecutions so far.

Still, several resources reported that boys and girls under the age of 18 are still being recruited by the Revolutionary Youth. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that members of the SDF kidnapped a 14-years-old boy Ahmed, after leaving his school with the aim of forcible recruitment, and took him to one of its recruitment centers.

Such action legitimizes Ankara’s efforts to put more pressure on the U.S. to stop its support to Kurdish affiliated groups in Rojava, ending the claims for the establishment of the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES). This includes Kurdish aspirations for political legitimacy in Rojava. Kobane and other leaders of the Autonomous Administration were drawn from the PKK's ranks - which is classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. and E.U. This has been used as justification for Turkey’s continued assaults against the Kurdish entity in Syria. Ankara claims that a NATO ally shouldn’t be partnered with terrorists who are considered an existential threat to Turkey.