Handover of orphans in Syria
Syrian Kurdish security force personnel stand guard during the handover of orphaned children of suspected ISIS fighters to a Russian delegation in the north-eastern Syrian city of Qamishli.
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria handed over 34 orphans whose parents were suspected of being members of ISIS to a Russian delegation to be repatriated.
Children aged between 3 and 14 were given to a group led by Anna Kuznetsova, the Russian president’s envoy for children’s rights, AFP reported.
Moscow repatriated at least 169 orphans of suspected ISIS members, Fener Al Kait of the Syrian Kurds’ foreign affairs department said at a handover ceremony on Sunday.
He said more orphans would be sent from north-east Syria to Russia.
Russian authorities have also been involved in efforts to repatriate children abandoned in Iraq since the defeat of the extremist group.
Iraq declared victory over ISIS in 2017 and fighters in Syria liberated the last area under the group’s control in 2019.
Syrian Kurdish officials repeatedly urged foreign powers to repatriate suspected ISIS fighters held in crowded camps in north-east Syria.
But their calls largely fell on deaf ears and only limited numbers of the camps’ residents have been allowed to return home so far. Most of them were children.
In February, the UN criticised 57 countries for failing to repatriate about 10,000 people, mostly women and children associated with ISIS fighters.
The UN said they were being held in “sub-human conditions”.
Britain, the US, France and Sweden were among the nations criticised by UN human-rights experts, who called on governments to take immediate action.
Rights groups put pressure on European governments to allow children to return from the crowded and desolate camps.
Kurdish officials also called on countries to take back their citizens and said Kurdish forces did not have the resources to guard prisoners indefinitely.
France said it would only take back children. Their mothers are to remain behind to face justice but many of the women refused to be separated from their children.
There are at least 9,462 women and children among the more than 64,600 people held at Al Hol and Roj camps, which are run by Syrian Kurdish authorities. Most of the residents are Iraqis and Syrians.