Mahmood Ahmadi, son of Assad, from Hassan Nouran village, Oshnaviyeh, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, and a Kurdish under-age abducted by the KDPI armed men. The Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch (IKHRW) has previously reported on the abduction of Kurdish under-ages by PJAK and the KDPI armed men. In previous reports, the IKHRW cited the locals and families whose children had been abducted by the KDPI, and that the people of Oshnaviyeh believed the Kurdish people were suffering from the presence of these armed groups in the region. As they make insecurity and pave the way for lack of facilities in these areas, the people called on the Iranian government to pay more attention to the security and development of the region. The people of Oshnaviyeh believe that the presence of these armed men has targeted the security and stability of the area and has made it impossible to invest in these potentially high-income border areas.
Armed groups around the world are recruit children as soldiers, and Kurdish militias are involved in abducting hundreds of Kurdish children and not even handing over their bodies to the families. Children are abducted by these groups and, in the worst case, are practically imprisoned in the camps. Assassination, violence, brainwashing, acts of terrorism and extortion are among the trainings presented to children in these groups. Many children in the area have fallen victim to the armed groups or have managed to escape or are still being held as captives. The children targeted by the groups are minors. The poverty and unemployment caused by the armed groups leads these children to be deceived by their dreams of finding money and job.
Mahmoud Ahmadi is one of the children deceived and abducted by the KDPI armed men while he was 14 years old. He told our reporter the reason for his recruitment by the group was his financial need and that they promised him to pay money. “First of all, I must say I am very happy that my son has come back Iran,” said Assad Ahmadi, Mahmoud’s father, about how his son was abducted and recruited by the group. I am happy that he is no longer in the KDPI. These groups are the main factor of our problems as Kurds. I have four children and Mahmoud is the third one. I am a farmer. If the agents of this terrorist group do not deceive the youth, the region will be relatively secure. Mahmoud had left school and we had financial problems. That’s why Mahmoud helped the family. But he was deceived by the KDPI promising him money, house and was taken out of the country. “After a while, Mahmoud called us saying that all the promises were false and that the KDPI camp was not in good condition at all.”
Mr. Ahmadi added: “Mahmoud had regretted from the begining; but he did not know how to get out of that situation. He had no contact with the family as they did not let him call. One day he called us and said he was deceived but regretted and wanted to come back. At that time, it was the beginning of the Corona outbreak, the borders were completely locked down. In the summer of 2020, I could get him out of the KDPI camp. The family feels much better now. His mother’s mental health has also improved a lot. We still do not know why armed groups should contact a 14-year-old boy. He is now back and works and does not want to talk about the conditions of the group camps at all. He has faced bitter memories of those few months in the camps. Mahmoud only says that he was deceived and all promises on money or a house were false.”
It is worth mentioning that Mahmoud is one of the few under-ages who managed to escape from the camps of the Kurdish armed groups. Many of them are killed at war and extortion. The IKHRW published several cases of children deceived by PJAK and the KDPI in 2020. The IKHRW believes that the Kurdish armed groups will not stop their policy of recruiting children as soldiers until the Iranian government actively promotes stability and development in the Kurdish areas.
