The ordeal of an Afghan teenager forcibly recruited by the Taliban

When the Taliban arrived in the northern town of Kunduz last Sunday, 17-year-old Abdullah was forced to fight alongside them., after a brief training which only served him as an officer as a carrier of about twenty kilos of firearms.

Today, the young man came with his family to take refuge in Kabul like thousands of Afghans, fleeing the lightning offensive of the insurgents who took control of more than half of the provincial capitals Afghans in eight days, until they reached the gates of the capital.

Abdullah and his family moved into a tent in a northern suburb of the capital. From there he recounted the horror of last Sunday, his last day in his town.

This young Afghan man knew that the Taliban would soon reach his neighborhood, but was shocked when they arrested him in the street, took him to a nearby hill and they forced him to carry weapons: a bag of RPG (rocket propelled grenade) on his back, weighing about twenty kilos, and a box of ammunition in each hand.

Threats to parents

With his face scarred by acne, Abdullah claims to have recognized with the Taliban several students of a madrasa (Koranic school) near Kunduz. The Taliban recruited 30 to 40 young people there, some of whom were only 14 years old.

“They asked them to take up arms and join their ranks. And when their parents came to ask for their release, they threatened them with weapons “said the teenager.

Abdullah’s ordeal lasted three hours. Then, his relatives managed to convince the Taliban to release himThe family then decided to flee and he went out to tell his grandfather.

But the Taliban were still there. Four “Pakistani” fighters, whom Abdullah recognized by their accent, arrested him and took him away again to prepare him for combat.

“They beat us. I still have the marks “. An hour later, he was equipped with an M16 rifle. “I was shaking, I couldn’t hold my gun”remembers Abdullah, who worked in his father’s barbershop and had never fought before.

“There were aerial bombardments and tank fire. Three or four children carrying weapons were shot and died when their bags exploded “, because in front were the Afghan forces which reacted in their turn.

In the accident

Accompanying “half of the Taliban group” were killed or wounded. So Abdullah takes a chance, drops his gun and runs away.

It took him an hour to return to his neighborhood: “I was shocked, I couldn’t even recognize our door (…) When I got home I wasn’t even sure I was alive”.

The family prepares to flee, borrowing money and even selling the mother’s phone to pay for the trip. “We didn’t bring anything with us. We even sold the food we had»Laments Abdallah.

All that they left has become smoke when his house was hit by a mortar shell.

After fifteen hours of travel, Abdullah eventually arrived in Kabul with his parents, grandfather, two sisters and three brothers., the youngest of whom is only two and a half years old.

Since, They sleep on the floor, wearing nothing but the clothes they are wearing and a blanket that was thrown at them the day before, “A passing businessman.”

(With information from AFP)

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