The brutalisation of Iraq's children: School kids act out battle with ISIS in play
CAN there be any hope for Iraq's children when this is what passes for a school play?
These tragic images show youngsters acting out a battle between Islamic State (ISIS) fighters and government troops – in a twisted scene at odds with the innocence of their young faces.
It is a depressing insight into life for children in Iraq - many of whom have been left brutalised by years of fighting and repression.
The pupils pictured in the images released this evening are acting out a scene in a play titled ‘We are all against terrorism’.
The young boys are seen aiming plastic machine guns at each other while the girls sit on the floor in the background.
Those representing the ISIS fighters have been given long beards to wear and are waving the black flag of the group.
In the next scene, the youngsters pose as the Iraqi army with some wearing camouflage and waving their national flag in celebration of a symbolic victory over the repressive terror group.
The play, organised by a government run primary school in the capital Baghdad, shows just how entrenched violence has become in the country's pysche.
The scene is in depressing contrast to the real-life child fighters operating with the brutal ISIS regime.
Among the shocking photos and videos released by the evil organisation’s propaganda machine are images of children as young as three posing with deadly weapons.
In one, a nursery-aged fighter holds a rocket balanced on his young shoulder, with a beaming man posing in the back of the shot.