Three British Isil orphans go missing from refugee camp
THREE British Isil orphans are feared missing in northern Syria after their camp was caught up in Turkey’s attack on Kurdish forces.
Amira, 10, her sister Hiba, 8, and their brother Hamza, also 8, were discovered in the Kurdish-run Ain Issa camp by a BBC team last week.
But their whereabouts were unknown yesterday after hundreds of women linked to the caliphate fled the camp after it was shelled by Turkish forces.
They had been living with 21 other orphans at the camp since they were evacuated from the wreckage of Baghouz, Isil’s last redoubt, in March.
The siblings, whose surname is unknown, emerged from Isil’s last stand bearing physical and emotional scars but still able to speak some English. Their parents, older brother and two sisters were killed in the battle.
The family travelled to Isil’s so-called caliphate five years ago. Speaking to the BBC, Amira, who still has traces of a London accent, painstakingly wrote the place she once called home: “LANDN ukeh” – London, UK.
The family is believed to have entered Syria in 2014 or 2015, travelling to Aleppo, on to Raqqa and ending up in Baghouz. Human rights watchdogs have heaped pressure on the international community to repatriate their citizens. France and the Netherlands have permitted the return of child nationals whose parents took them to Syria but died there.
In the hours after the escape, Save the Children made a plea to countries to repatriate their citizens. The UK has revoked the citizenship of high-profile militants and their families.