Rights group condemns use of child soldier by pro-Egypt army tribal groups

Children are being recruited to fight as part of pro-government tribal armies in Egypt’s Sinai sparking criticism from human rights groups.

Pictures circulating on social media show children carrying various weapons during their participation in the military operations that are ongoing in the cities of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

This confirms the direct and daily field cooperation of the Tribes Union with the Egyptian army, the site said.

The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights said that the “phenomenon of recruiting children or using them in military actions within tribal groups loyal to the Egyptian army, as part of its war against the Islamic State – Sinai Province in the northern Sinai Peninsula, became steadily noticeable during the first half of 2022.”

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This recruitment, it added, “is taking place under the supervision of the Egyptian authorities, in flagrant violation of all international laws and covenants that stress the protection of children’s rights, especially during armed conflicts.”

The foundation said that “many children were killed or injured as a result of attacks by the Sinai Province organisation during the storming of the villages of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, but this did not prevent their continued participation until now, but rather the return of some of them to military activity after surviving injuries earlier.”

أوقفوا "تجنيد الأطفال"

في تقريرها الجديد، تكشف مؤسسة سيناء عن زيادة ملحوظة في ظاهرة #تجنيد_الأطفال ضمن صفوف المجموعات القبلية المسلحة الموالية للجيش خلال النصف الأول من 2022

يظهر تحليلا أجرته المؤسسة أن انخراط الأطفال في الأعمال العسكرية جرى بمعرفة السلطات الأمنية و تحت إشرافها pic.twitter.com/ECiLI5AHN2

— Sinai for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) May 14, 2022