Security

UK repatriates one woman and five children from northeastern Syria

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the AANES have repeatedly urged foreign countries to repatriate their citizens stuck in Syria.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/12/12 19:35

A UK delegation recently picked up one woman and five children from northeastern Syria (Photo: AANES’s Foreign Relations Department)

World AANES Catherine Shaw UK Consulate General in Erbil Syria reptriaations

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led civilian Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)’s Foreign Relations Department announced on Tuesday that they recently handed over a woman and five children to a delegation from the United Kingdom.

In a video statement read by Catherine Shaw, Acting Consul General at the UK Consulate General in Erbil, the UK thanked the AANES for their support to “help make these repatriations happen, particularly given the challenging circumstances of recent months.”

The envoy added “It is good news that with your indispensable help, we are able to facilitate the repatriation of British nationals to the UK. We greatly value our collaboration with you in pursuit of our shared mission, the enduring defeat of Daash (ISIS).”

“I pay tribute to the courage and sacrifices made by the Syrian Democratic Forces in this regard. But we know Daash (ISIS) continues to present serious threats to communities in Syria, Iraq, and further afield, including in the UK,” Shaw continued.

She also emphasized that the UK remains determined to work with the AANES and international partners to improve livelihoods for the people of northeast Syria, including providing support for camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

However, she noted that conditions in these camps remain extremely severe. “The Northeast will remain an integral part of the UK’s humanitarian program in Syria. We will continue to support vulnerable populations with vital life saving assistance to internally displaced people in camps, settlements and communities,” the envoy concluded.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and AANES have repeatedly urged foreign countries to repatriate their citizens stuck in Syria.

The UK in the past years has repatriated several nationals from northeast Syria.

According to data from the US State Department, 33,000 individuals from more than 60 countries outside Syria remain in the SDF-held al-Hol and Roj camps, most of whom are children under the age of 12.

The Kyrgyz Republic recently also repatriated 96 women and children from the al-Hol displaced persons camp in northeast Syria, receiving praise from the US State Department and the US-led Coalition.

The US-led Coalition in a recent statement said that “more than 4,400 people have been returned to their communities and countries of origin from these camps, helping to ease the burden of providing humanitarian services and reducing the risk of Daesh's (ISIS) exploitation of this vulnerable population.”

Moreover, the Coalition further underlined that “repatriation is the only enduring solution.”