THE SYRIAN CHILD SNIPER

                I will post information about child soldiers in the Syrian Civil War from several news sources.

12-year-old Midyan Abu Al-Qa'qa is a Child Soldier and he is a sniper.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Watch-Syrian-child-sniper-discusses-killing-soldiers-Theres-nothing-to-it-375734

Watch: Syrian child sniper discusses killing soldiers: There's nothing to it

By JPOST.COM STAFF

09/18/2014   

"I killed my first soldier on this front. When I killed him, I didn't feel anything. He was the first, but then came a second, and a third. I've gotten used to being a sniper."

The Syrian civil war, well into its third year, has not only claimed more than 190,000 lives and displaced millions of people from their homes, it has turned a number of children into soldiers, unmoved by taking the life of another.

A Lebanese television report, broadcast this week and translated by MEMRI, tells the story of these child soldiers, who "arrive here as children and quickly turn into killing machines."

The report focuses on 12-year-old Midyan Abu Al-Qa'qa, who voluntarily joined the ranks of rebel fighters, after his father was killed in battle in the south of Idlib.

The boy operates as a sniper at the Wadi Deifr Camp, east of Maarat Al-Nu'man.

"I get up in the morning and try to shoot some soldiers. Sometimes I manage to shoot one or two, and sometimes I don't. There's nothing to it. I feel fine," Midyan told the Lebanese station.

"I killed my first soldier on this front. When I killed him, I didn't feel anything. He was the first, but then came a second, and a third. I've gotten used to being a sniper," he said.

The report quoted a veteran rebel soldier as saying that "children make the best soldiers. When you give them orders, they obey. They never doubt anything."

Midyan expressed the belief that he is fighting for a just cause. "We will continue the revolution until we win or become martyrs."

PSL rifle

12-year-old Midyan Abu Al-Qa'qa is a Child Soldier and he is a sniper.

[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Watch-Syrian-child-sniper-discusses-killing-soldiers-Theres-nothing-to-it-375734]

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/syrian-child-sniper-when-i-killed-him-i-didn-t-feel-anything-0

Syrian Child Sniper: ‘When I Killed Him, I Didn’t Feel Anything’

September 19, 2014 - 4:41 PM

By Lauretta Brown

Syrian Child Soldiers

[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/syrian-child-sniper-when-i-killed-him-i-didn-t-feel-anything-0]

 (CNSNews.com) –A Lebanese television channel recently aired a special on child soldiers, featuring an interview with a 12-year-old sniper who joined a group fighting in opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad after his father was killed on the battlefield.

“I get up in the morning and try to shoot some soldiers,” Midyan Abu Al-Qa’qa’ says on the program, which was translated from LDC TV by the Middle East Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Sometimes I manage to shoot one or two, and sometimes I don’t. There’s nothing to it. I feel fine. I killed my first soldier on this front. When I killed him, I didn’t feel anything. He was the first, but then came a second, and a third…I’ve gotten used to being a sniper,” the pre-teen says.

(MEMRI) posted a portion of the special on YouTube:

[video:1]                              

According to the video's narrator, Midyan “voluntarily joined the ranks of the fighters after his father was killed in battle in the south of Idlib.” He currently is a sniper in the Wadi Deif Camp, which is located east of Maarat Al-Nu’man in northwestern Syria.

“We will continue the revolution until we win or become martyrs,” Midyan tells the reporters.

The video also shows other child soldiers, and quotes a Syrian veteran who says, “Children make the best soldiers. When you give them orders, they obey. They never doubt anything.”

The narrator describes the circumstances under which thousands of child soldiers under the age of 18 become soldiers.

“Sometimes they are urged to come by those older than them, but in most cases, they arrive on their own accord, in order to fight for the sake of their families and their country, Syria,” the narrator says.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report in June accusing Syrian armed groups of violating international law by using children as soldiers, noting that “conscripting or enlisting children under 15, including for support roles, is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

HRW detailed the experiences of 25 Syrian child soldiers such as “Majed,” 16, who told HRW that Jabhat al-Nusra in Daraa recruited him and other boys in his community by providing free schooling at a local mosque that included military training and target practice.

He said that commanders asked children as well as adults to sign up for suicide attacks. “Sometimes fighters volunteered, and sometimes [commanders] said, ‘Allah chose you.’”

Seventeen-year-old “Saleh” told HRW that he began fighting with the Free Syrian Army at 15 after being detained and tortured by government security forces. He later joined two other armed groups.

“I thought of leaving [the fighting] a lot,” he said. “I lost my studies, I lost my future, I lost everything.”

Thousands of children have taken up arms in the region.

“The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates there are about 5,300 child fighters among the opposition,” the Los Angeles Times reports, “not including extremist groups such as Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front or Islamic State, and 2,000 with pro-government forces, most between the ages of 14 and 17.”

Syrian armed groups shouldn’t prey on vulnerable children – who have seen their relatives killed, schools shelled, and communities destroyed – by enlisting them in their forces,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, HRW's Middle East children’s rights researcher and author of the report.

“The horrors of Syria’s armed conflict are only made worse by throwing children into the front lines.”

Syrian Child Soldier: "I've Gotten Used to Killing Soldiers."

Published on Sep 18, 2014

Lebanese channel LDC TV aired on September 13 a news report about the phenomenon of child soldiers in Syria. The report included an interview with 12-year-old Midyan, who had become a sniper in the ranks of the Syrian opposition after his father was killed in battle.

VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtniLfZkaW0