In a country mired by war for the last six years, Syrian children have been direct victims of terrorist activities which involve using children as shields, suicide bombers and brainwashed slaves.
Two young boys were held captive by Daesh (ISIS) in the city of Dayr Hafir with the rest of the civilian population for three years. In a recent interview with the state SANA TV channel, the boys spoke about what they had to face at the hands of the terrorists.
“Daesh terrorist organization has detained me like the rest of the people of Dayr Hafir for more than three years during which the children were tortured by the terrorists who were putting children in car bombs forcibly and then blow them up,” 14-year-old Ibrahim Najam al-Nazal said.
He went on to say that women were forced to wear black clothes at all times and men were subjected to undertake forced labor, like digging tunnels and planting mines.
“The terrorist organization did not allow anyone to leave the area,” al-Nazal added.
Recalling the instances when someone broke the rules and tried to make a run for it, the boy said that the terrorists would behead those people in front of everyone, including children.
This torture went on until the Syrian army came to the rescue.
“The Syrian Arab Army entered the area and freed us of their grip,” the boy said in an interview.
The second boy, Yahiya al-Akhras from Aleppo, told SANA that the terrorists of al-Nusra Front, the al-Zinki movement, Ahrar al-Sham and other organizations used children in bombing attacks.
He said that these terrorists brainwashed children by their Takfiri ideology for more than five years. They also used children to transport food through underground secret tunnels.
The terrorists did terrible things such as burning houses, cars and properties and looting money from civilians.
In order to help children like the two young boys cope with their trauma, a number of Syrian humanitarian groups such as the St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee in al-Zabadani area have been set up.
These committees work to establish meetings and parties for children in order to give them hope and a more positive outlook on their situation.