UN urges member states to repatriate 27,000 'IS children' stranded in northeastern Syria

The United Nations on Friday urged the member states to repatriate over 27,000 Syrian children currently stranded at a camp in the northwestern part of the country. UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov said that the children, who are living at the Al Hol camp, are in dire need of help as they face various risks, including radicalization. The children are sons and daughters of Islamic State militants, who have either been killed or are in jail. 

Read: Syria Group Files For Probe Of Greece Migrant Abuse

Voronkov, while speaking at an informal UN Security Council meeting, urged countries to repatriate those children as quickly as possible. Voronkov called it one of the most "pressing" issues in the world right now. According to the United Nations, the Al Hol camp in Syria house more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, who were displaced after the Islamic State was defeated in 2019. Voronkov said that it is the responsibility of member states to get those children out of Syria. He said that children of 60 different nationalities currently reside in the camp, which is being guarded by the Kurdish forces. 

Read: Syria Rights Group Files Case Against Greece In ICC Demanding Probe Of Migrant Abuse

Voronkov said that Russia and Kazakhstan have together repatriated more than 1,000 children and their families. Most countries don't want to take back family members of ISIS fighters who went to fight in Syria from all over the world because of the security risks they pose. However, Voronkov said that so far no security risk has been detected among people repatriated from Syria. 

Read: After Fresh Israeli Attack, US Military Convoy Enters Syria's Province Of Hasakah

Conflict in Syria

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) controlled huge landmasses across Syria and Iraq, almost as large as the United Kingdom. However, after the intervention of foreign forces and the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group lost all its strongholds, and children of militants, who were killed or captured, were left by themselves. Those children then fled to the Al Hol and other camps in the northeast. 

The war in Syria is currently being fought between forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and several rebel Sunni groups. Assad's Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is being backed by international allies, including Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the United States, which had deployed its Army in the region to fight the Islamic State, has on several occasions carried out airstrikes against pro-Syrian government forces. Some other countries that are said to have been involved are Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel. 

Read: US Govt Extends Protected Status Of Nearly 7,000 Syrians In Country By 18 Months

(Image Credit: AP)