JM Lopez, Al Jazeeera
Al Jazeera: Magazine: Syria's school of war
How a former school-turned-'military academy' is training children to fight in the country's civil war.
Aleppo, Syria - Abdel Razzaq's 'military academy' is located in a former school in northern Syria's Aleppo province. It is where local boys come to receive two hours of training a day for three months before being sent off to the front.
Eager to join their older brothers and fathers on the frontline of the Syrian civil war, the teenagers readying themselves to fight with the rebels are oblivious to the international laws prohibiting child combatants.
"When they arrive here, they are children. By the time they leave, they are killing machines," says Abdel Razzaq, the 38-year-old former army sergeant who trains them.
He teaches his students how to handle a Kalashnikov, or AK-47 assault rifle, the weapon most commonly used by the rebels, as well as how to overcome fear and never to hesitate when the time comes to kill.
WNU Editor: This comment by an instructor summarizes why "child soldiers" are so dangerous .... "Children are the best soldiers I know. They obey every command. An adult asks questions and answers back. But the children, they question nothing," Abdel Razzaq says.
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