Syria Repatriates 146 ISIS-linked Tajiki Women and Children

Arab World

July 26th, 5:56am

Qamishli - Kamal Sheikho

A child from the families linked to ISIS militants looks out the window of a bus after the authorities of the Kurdish units handed them over to Tajikistan in the city of Qamishli on Monday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syria’s autonomous Kurdish administration handed Tajikistan 146 women and children who were held in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria. The operation was the largest of its kind since March 2009. It included 104 children and 42 women who arrived in Syria in early 2015. Tajikistan’s ambassador to Kuwait Zabidullah Zabidov handled the repatriation process for Tajikistan. In a press conference held with Kurdish foreign affairs official Fanar Al Kaeet, Zabidov said his country held talks with Syria's Kurds to repatriate the Tajiki citizens and that concerned authorities had taken the necessary measures and arrangements for their return to their country. He also hailed the efforts exerted by the autonomous Kurdish administration in this regard. Meanwhile, in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kaeet warned against any Turkish operation that would allow the ISIS sleeper cells to reorganize themselves and take control of some areas. He highlighted three challenges that increase the burdens on the administration authorities in the area including the Turkish threats to invade the regions of northeastern Syria, the exploitation of the Russian war on Ukraine to close the crossings with the administration areas, and the deterioration of the security and living conditions. Kaeet stressed that if Ankara launches a military attack, it will destabilize the region and would lead to large waves of displacements, posing a threat to the security situation in the camps. Thousands of foreign extremists joined ISIS as fighters, often bringing their wives and children to live in the "caliphate" declared by the group across swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The militants were dislodged in 2019 from their last scrap of territory in Syria by Kurdish-led forces backed by a US-led coalition, and Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens from crowded displaced camps. Since then, a number of Western and Arab countries and governments have received limited members of the families of extremist militants. Among those countries are Russia and the countries of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kosovo. Other European countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, have received a limited number of women and children related to ISIS fighters who were held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3779941/syria-repatriates-146-isis-linked-tajiki-women-and-children