02/01/2012 / Afghanistan
Source : Site Intelligence Group.
Child soldiers called up for Taliban propaganda
A video showing young Afghan children bearing firearms was published on YouTube in late December. Our Observer in Kabul says this is a perfect example of Taliban propaganda.
According to the US nonprofit organisation SITE, which tracks terrorist activity on the Internet, the video was posted online by the pro-Jihad channel Katawaz Studio. SITE says the footage was shot in the border province of Paktika, in eastern Afghanistan. This region, at the Pakistani border, is home to the Haqqani network, one of the Taliban’s most active armed branches. In 2011, the group claimed responsibility for several deadly terrorist attacks on Afghan soil.
Approximately 132,000 NATO soldiers, 100,000 of whom are American, have been deployed in Paktika since a US-led coalition toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Last month, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta addressed US troops at a forward operating base in Paktika province, claiming the international coalition was "winning this very tough conflict" against the Taliban.
The video posted below – just one example of the Taliban's use of children to deliver a political message – suggests US troops will increasingly find child soldiers standing in their way.
Contributors
“This type of video no longer surprises anyone in my country”
Nasim Fekrat is a blogger in Kabul.
This video has all of the characteristics of a set-up. It features a typical Taliban chant, without music because music is “haram” (unlawful) according to the Taliban. You can tell that the children aren’t quite sure what to do and that the man behind the camera is guiding them. They look confused, some of them are smiling and one is chewing gum (see minute 4’38).
Many videos like this one are circulating on the Internet. They may seem disturbing to foreigners, but they come as no surprise to those who know Afghanistan well. The Taliban often use children for their propaganda. It’s a way for them to send out the message that the Afghan people are opposed to the US military occupation. “
Editor’s note: The Taliban do not only use children for propaganda – they also train them to become suicide bombers. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, there has recently been an “alarming increase in the number of suicide bombings” in Afghanistan committed by youths aged 7 to 17.
Comments
Reply to comment | The Observers
Submitted by NFL Tickets (not verified) on Sun, 22/07/2012 - 22:15.I rarely create responses, but i did some searching and wound up here Reply to comment | The Observers. And I actually do have some questions for you if it's allright. Is it only me or does it look as if like some of these responses look like written by brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are writing on additional online social sites, I would like to keep up with everything fresh you have to post. Could you make a list of all of all your shared pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
taliban use of children
Submitted by danny k (not verified) on Sun, 08/04/2012 - 18:09.i wonder which is worse using children as soldiers or using them as sex slaves! typical of the disgusting hypocrisy of taliban!!