BISHKEK -- A Kyrgyz lawmaker is asking for an investigation into the alleged recruitment of teenage fighters for Syria's civil war.
Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) party member Dastanbek Dzhumabekov made the call in parliament on April 17.
The lawmaker quoted residents of Aravan and other districts of the southern region of Osh as saying that around 15 teenage boys have been recruited in mosques and sent to Syria via Turkey to participate in the Syrian conflict.
He also said that a member of parliament and two parents have traveled to Istanbul to look into the matter.
Mametbek Myrzabaev, an official with the State Commission on Religious Affairs, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that seven residents of the town Kyzyl-Kya in the southern region of Batken traveled to Syria via Turkey last month. He says the youngest was 18 years of age.
Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) party member Dastanbek Dzhumabekov made the call in parliament on April 17.
The lawmaker quoted residents of Aravan and other districts of the southern region of Osh as saying that around 15 teenage boys have been recruited in mosques and sent to Syria via Turkey to participate in the Syrian conflict.
He also said that a member of parliament and two parents have traveled to Istanbul to look into the matter.
Mametbek Myrzabaev, an official with the State Commission on Religious Affairs, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that seven residents of the town Kyzyl-Kya in the southern region of Batken traveled to Syria via Turkey last month. He says the youngest was 18 years of age.
