IS bride’s baby dies in Syrian refugee camp
Third lost child for former British girl
THE BABY son of Islamic State runaway Shamima Begum has died.
Ms Begum, 19, gave birth in a refugee camp in the middle of February, having already lost two children.
Her third child’s death was confirmed on Friday by her family’s lawyer Tasnime Akunjee.
He had earlier tweeted: “He was a British citizen.”
Ms Begum, from Bethnal Green in east London, was 15 when she and two other schoolgirls went to join the terror group in February 2015.
She resurfaced heavily pregnant in a refugee camp in northern Syria last month and spoke of her desire to return to the UK, as the self-styled caliphate collapsed.
On February 17, her family announced the boy’s birth and said they believed he was “in good health”.
In an earlier interview with the BBC Ms Begum said: “Losing my children the way I lost them, I don’t want to lose this baby as well and this is really not a place to raise children, this camp.”
It was reported on the BBC that a paramedic working for the Kurdish Red Crescent in and around the camp said that the baby, called Jarrah, had been suffering from breathing difficulties.
He was taken to a doctor on Thursday morning before bepeal ing transferred to hospital, along with his mother, but died at 13:30 local time that day, the medical worker added.
Ms Begum has since returned to the camp and her child was buried there yesterday.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped Ms Begum of her British citizenship amid a fierce national debate over whether she should be allowed to return.
Her family, who pledged to ap- against the decision, also wrote to Mr Javid pleading with him to allow a safe passage for the boy to come to the UK.
Last month, Mr Javid confirmed the boy was a British citizen and said he had considered the child’s interest when deciding to revoke Ms Begum’s citizenship.
Asked whether there was any plan for Ms Begum’s son, Mr Javid told the Commons Home Affairs Committee it would be “incredibly difficult” for the Government to facilitate his return from Syria.
“If it is possible somehow for a British child to be brought to a place where there is a British consular presence, the closest place – it might be Turkey for example – in those circumstances I guess potentially it is possible to arrange for some sort of help with the consent of the parent,” he added. “Inside Syria, whether in a camp or maybe somewhere else, there is no British consular presence.”
A week ago, Ms Begum’s Dutch husband, Islamic State fighter Yago Riedijk, 27, said he wanted to return to the Netherlands with his wife and their son. He has been informed of the death.
I don’t want to lose this baby
... this is really not a place to raise children. Shamima Begum speaking before the death of her son
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