Syrian Opposition Outlet: Iran-Backed Militias Exploiting Locals' Poverty To Recruit Minors In Eastern Syria

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On November 17, 2024, the Syrian opposition-affiliated Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Iran-backed militias continue to exploit the "harsh economic conditions" in eastern Syria's Deir Al-Zour governorate to recruit locals, including minors.[1] Noting "abject poverty and rising unemployment" in the governorate, SOHR claimed that many families have been forced to allow their children to join the militias after being promised financial help, viewing it as "the only way to be saved from difficult living conditions" and giving up their "dreams of education and a better future" for their children.

SOHR spoke to Fatimah, a mother of four, who described that her 14-year-old son had aspired to become an engineer, but after "he lost everything due to the war and the difficult living situation," she acquiesced to the requests of a recruiter who promised that her son would "earn money to support the family."

Mahmoud, the father of a 12-year-old, explained that his son used to attend school, but when his friends began to join the militias, "he felt that he should do the same to be part of the group." Mahmoud claimed he was unable to dissuade his son from joining a militia after he said he would be able to "help the family and bring back money," and seeing that his son was under "great pressure."

SOHR noted that conscripting minors is a violation of international law.

SOHR has previously reported on the recruitment of minors by Iran-backed militias in Syria.

On September 14, SOHR reported that Husayn 'Allawi Al-'Abdallah aka Abu Hanan, a commander in the Iran-backed Al-Baqer Brigade, was secretly recruiting residents of areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including men up to 45 years old and minors from the age of 14. Claiming that recruits receive monthly salaries of up to 1 million Syrian lira (about $77), as well as other benefits, SOHR accused Iran and the militias it backs of seeking to change the demographics of eastern Syria and other parts of the country with "strategic importance" on the "Tehran-Beirut road," through its cultural and military activities which promote Shi'ite Islam.[2]

In an August 4 report, SOHR claimed that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had begun a training course for about 60 boys under the age of 15 at the 'Ayn 'Ali camp, in the desert southeast of Deir Al-Zour, where they were taught self-defense and pro-Iranian ideology. The boys were recruited from the Iranian cultural center in Deir Al-Zour city and other Iran-backed organizations.[3]

In late July, SOHR published photos showing Iran-backed militias training children to shoot at cardboard mannequins of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a training camp near the city of Al-Bukamal.[4]

The Syrian opposition-affiliated Naher Media similarly reported in late August that the IRGC had recruited dozens of minors in Deir Al-Zour city and the surrounding countryside.[5]