Following the announcement of the return of 12 persons, Germany stated on Wednesday that “nearly all known cases” of its citizens being held captive in extremist camps in Syria had been settled.
Seven children and four women left the Roj camp in northeastern Syria on Wednesday night and arrived in Germany, according to a statement from the foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.
The group also included a teenager who had been sent to Syria when he was just 11 years old.
We were able to shut practically all of the known cases thanks to this move, which relieves me, said Baerbock.
She continued, saying it was hard to abandon them “without a future in the camps of northeast Syria,” adding, “I am especially relieved since the children are not accountable for their parents’ catastrophic choices.”
According to the German foreign ministry, the ladies and the youngster were held upon arrival and would have to “account for their acts.”
It further stated that in all but one case, an agreed-upon repatriation had already taken place and that in all other instances, the mothers had expressed a preference against going back.
Since the so-called “caliphate” of ISIS was toppled in 2019, the homecoming of families of arrested or deceased extremist militants from Syria and Iraq has been a contentious subject for European nations.
In France, there has been a lot of discussion about resettling those who have been imprisoned in extreme prisons.
Prior to conducting its first significant repatriation earlier this year, the administration chose to handle returns on a case-by-case basis, a decision that was criticised by the inmates’ families.
According to the 77 kids who have been returned from the Rojava camp in northern Syria in seven operations, according to French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti on Wednesday.
He said that six more had made their way back to France from Iraq.
Among the French nationals currently living in Syrian camps are almost 250 children and about 100 women.
