US adds Turkey to list of countries using child soldiers
A US State Department report called out Turkey for providing support to armed groups in Syria that use children in combat.
The US State Department has added Turkey to a list of countries implicated in the unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers, the first time the label has been applied to a NATO ally.
The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report released Thursday called on Turkey to “cease operational, in-kind, and financial support to armed opposition groups in Syria that recruit child soldiers.”
Fourteen other countries, including Yemen, Iran and Iraq, were identified under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act as having government forces or government-supported armed groups that recruit or use children.
The report notes that countries designated by the act are subject to restrictions on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment, but that US presidents can waive those restrictions. State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday declined to say if Turkey will face any limitation on military assistance following the report.
