Austria repatriates 2 children from northeast Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led civilian administration in northeastern Syria, officially called the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), handed over two Austrian children from ISIS families to a delegation from the Central European country.

The children were “handed over to a delegation from the Austrian Ministry for European and international Affairs according to an official document signed by the AANES and the Austrian government,” the co-chair of AANES’ Foreign Relations Department, Abdul Karim Omar, tweeted on Thursday.

Yesterday, 1 June,2022, 2 Austrian children from ISIS families were handed over to a delegation from the Austrian Ministry for European and international Affairs according to an official document signed by the AANES and the Ausfrian govrnment @MFA_Austria pic.twitter.com/IBqHWG8fXj

— Dr Abdulkarim Omar (@abdulkarimomar1) June 2, 2022

Austria previously agreed to repatriate two children from northeast Syria back in 2019.

Read More: Austria agrees to receive two ISIS children in Syria

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the AANES have repeatedly called on Western countries to repatriate their citizens stuck in Syria.

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

Many EU countries fear that ISIS supporters could be quickly released once they appear in court due to the lack of evidence.

This week a court in Germany and the Netherlands sentenced two ISIS women who had joined the militant group in Syria.