Footages of the use of Armenian children in military activities intensified by the separatists in Azerbaijan's Karabakh have been actively shared by the separatists on social networks in recent days.
Earlier, Yeni Safak announced that it will keep this issue on the agenda and called on the international organizations (UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and International Committee of the Red Cross) that turn a blind eye to the participation of children and teenagers in military exercises, to protest the Armenian side.
Commenting on this still relevant issue, an Egyptian independent researcher and expert on the South Caucasus Abdul-Hamid Qutub said that according to international law, the involvement of teenagers and children in military exercises and conflicts is a crime.
"Both states and individuals who involve teenagers and children in military exercises and conflicts must answer before the international court without exception. However, unfortunately, despite all this, even in our modern world, we see that some states or groups connected to them, in one way or another, involve teenagers and children in military training under the name of 'national resistance'. The fact that Armenia, as well as the separatists in Karabakh, involve children in military training shows that international laws are of no importance to them. As for Armenia, which turns a blind eye to this, it has been proven once again that Armenia is already ignoring international law," he said.
The expert also noted that there is information about the participation of PKK terrorists in the military exercises organized by Armenian separatists for children, as well as the fact that these terrorists fought against the Azerbaijani army in the Second Karabakh War.
"The fact that the separatists in Karabakh involve children in military training can be equated with terrorist groups in the Middle East. So, in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, many radical, religious groups, marginal Christian groups connected to Iran, as well as PKK/PYD terrorist organizations involve children in military training. There are enough documents, photos and video footage to prove this," the expert said.
Child fighters of the Daesh terrorist organization
The PKK terrorist organization group of teenagers
According to him, both Armenia and the separatists in Karabakh use the method of the terrorists in the Middle East because international law has no value to them.
Qutub noted that the target of the separatists in Karabakh, as well as Armenia, is not only Azerbaijan but also Türkiye.
"Türkiye and Azerbaijan are common targets of Armenian separatism, and this is no secret to anyone. Of course, in this case, we can see a serious connection between the separatists in Karabakh and the revanchists in Armenia and the PKK terrorists. So, there are facts that the PKK terrorists neutralized in Türkiye and Syria included Armenians," he said.
The expert also noted that the logical explanation for the separatists' involvement in military training is that they do not want peace in the region.
The photo was taken during the training conducted by the POGA organization in October 2022.
"Separatists of Karabakh, confident in the promises of the Armenian authorities and some circles in the West, especially the Armenian diaspora, are preparing for a new war. For this purpose, in some countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria, propaganda against Azerbaijan and Türkiye is carried out among ethnic Armenians within the framework of 'Christian solidarity weeks'," Qutub said. "The goal is to collect "soldiers" for a new war. The main goal of the Armenian diaspora is to re-raise the problem solved by Azerbaijan on the "Religion" level. "All the propaganda carried out by the Armenian side in the Middle East is based on religion and propagandizes Christian solidarity."
A political expert of Türkiye's Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) Can Acun also said that Armenia's involvement of children in military activities in Karabakh is a war crime against humanity and children's rights.
"Although it's absolutely unacceptable to recruit children into the regular army, this is peculiar to the activities of terrorist organizations. Terrorist organizations such as Daesh and PKK can continue their activities in a way that creates chaos, resentment and hatred in societies by only involving children in their ranks," Acun noted.
The attempt of the Armenian side to do this is a very serious crime and must be punished by international institutions, he added.
