US Brings Back 11 Americans, 6 Canadian Kids from Syria
The state department of the US has announced the repatriation of 11 of its citizens and six Canadian children from camps in north-eastern Syria.
Ten individuals from the United States are said to belong to one family, while all six Canadians are minors. Additionally, the State Department has repatriated four Dutch citizens and one Finnish citizen.
In Syria, approximately 30,000 individuals from 60 nations, predominantly children, are stranded in the overcrowded camps of Al-Hol and Roj, managed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces following the defeat of the Islamic State group's caliphate in early 2019.
In a statement released by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, it was the single largest repatriation of American citizens from camps in Syria to date.
A nine-year-old non-US citizen sibling of one of the American children was also resettled in the US, the statement added.
While the Americans were not named by the state department, US media have identified one of them as a Massachusetts-born woman, Brandy Salman, and her nine children now ranging in age from about seven to 26.
They arrived back in the US on Tuesday morning and Ms Salmon will live initially with her mother in New Hampshire.
Ms Salman's Turkish-American husband reportedly took the family to Syria in 2016. He was killed and the family was eventually taken into custody by the SDF.
It is unclear where Ms Salman and her family will be resettled, or whether she could face criminal charges.
Some other US citizens who allegedly became members of the Islamic State group have faced charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, among other charges. Others have not been charged.
Al-Madioum, originally from Morocco and a naturalized American, journeyed to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State group. Captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2019, he was later brought back to Minnesota.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges. To date, the United States has repatriated 51 of its citizens from Syria. Global Affairs Canada confirmed the repatriation of six of its citizens, all minors, but withheld further details due to privacy concerns.
Their focus is on safeguarding the children's privacy and providing necessary support for their resettlement in Canada. Around 30,000 individuals from various countries remain in the Al-Hol and Roj camps, where human rights organizations have reported instances of abuse and poor conditions.
Concerns have been raised about the susceptibility of children raised in the camps to radicalization by Islamic State militants. Despite calls for repatriation, some countries have resisted.
Secretary of State Blinken emphasized the need for countries to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and ensure accountability for those in the displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria.
