Humanitarian

Albania repatriates 13 nationals from northeast Syria: AANES official

“Today, 27 May, 2022, 13 Albanian nationals (4 women and 9 children) of the families of ISIS organisation were handed over to an official Albanian government delegation.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/05/27 20:00

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria on Friday handed over 13 Albanian nationals to Albania (Photo: Abdulkarim Omar)

Syria Albania AANES ISIS children ISIS SDF

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led civilian administration in northeast Syria handed over 13 Albanian nationals (four women and nine children) on Friday.

“Today, 27 May, 2022, 13 Albanian nationals (4 women and 9 children) of the families of ISIS organisation were handed over to an official Albanian government delegation,” Abdulkarim Omar, co-head of foreign relations for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, tweeted.

Today, 27 May,2022, 13 Albanian nationals (4 women and 9 children) of the families of ISIS organisation were handed over to an official Albanian government delegation, after signing the official handover document between AANES and the Republic of Albania. pic.twitter.com/v1tGwt1EtV
— Dr Abdulkarim Omar (@abdulkarimomar1) May 27, 2022

This came after signing an official handover document between AANES and the Republic of Albania, the official added.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the civilian Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria have publicly called on foreign countries to repatriate their citizens.

They hold thousands of ISIS fighters, wives and children, including European nationals. However, the majority of them are Iraqis and Syrians.

Several Western countries have been reluctant to repatriate their citizens due to legal and security risks and domestic opposition to the repatriation of ISIS suspects.