Syrian Kurdish Militia Forces Youths Into ISIS Fight

Locals: Young People Staying at Home to Avoid Being 'Conscripted'

The People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia common in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, has taken to kidnapping young Kurds, forcing them to join their fighting forces clashing with ISIS.

The move is being called “conscription” by the militia’s political wing, and they have reportedly taken hundreds of youths of the streets of northeastern Syrian Kurdish cities in the operation.

Locals say that many young people are staying inside their houses to avoid being captured and “conscripted” by the YPG. The move was harshly criticized by several rival Kurdish political factions.

Ibrahim Biro, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Patriotic Party, said he believed the YPG efforts to force locals into their group was a “cynical move” designed to give them more influence at an upcoming meeting of Syrian Kurdish factions on the defense of Rojava.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.