ISIS children in NE Syria camps pose danger to world – AANES official
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The extremist ideology in two camps in Northeast Syria poses a grave danger to the future of children, the region, and the world, an official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) stated on Monday.
In an exclusive statement to North Press, Khaled Ibrahim, official at the Foreign Relations Department of the AANES, said the children living in Roj and Hawl camps are exposed to sexual and domestic abuse.
“Children of the age of 12 and above are sexually exploited to increase ISIS offspring based upon fatwas issued by their emirs, they claim,” he said.
He added that ISIS is reorganizing and forming new groups using women and underage children living in Hawl and Roj camps. They undergo ideology training and are taught to carry out assassinations and recruit other children.
Therefore, the AANES, according to international laws and the 2020 Children’s Protection Law No.7 issued by its General Council, is taking the best interest of the children in mind, “transfers them after obtaining approval from their mothers to Orkesh and Houri centers for rehabilitation.”
Houri center, established four years ago in the town of Tel Ma’rouf, southeast of the city Qamishli, is the first center designated for the rehabilitation of ISIS children from extremist ideologies and reintegrate them into civil societies. The center accommodates children aged 12-18.
Similarly, Halat center, situated in the city of Hasakah, cares for and rehabilitates ISIS children whose mothers are held in the two camps. The center houses 55 children from different western and Arab countries [except for Syrians and Iraqis] aged 2-12. During the day, the children are brought to Halat center but in the evening they are taken back to their mothers, according to previous reports.
Orkesh center, some 5 km to the southwest of Qamishli, opened its doors late last year. It is home to upwards of 50 children, particularly those of foreign women.
Some children in Houri center are older than 22 years, mostly wounded and detained while participating in battles against international terrorism.
“There is no specific period for rehabilitation or discharging the children back to the radical environment in the camps. They remain in the centers until they are repatriated. Meanwhile, their mothers and relatives regularly visit them at the center,” Ibrahim noted.
The centers house more than 200 children and have trained staff and assisted by some local and international organization, but they do not have the capacity to cover the large number of children from different ages and backgrounds in the camps.
“We see few positive results from the provided rehabilitation programs, but they still need more programs from the international community,” he added.
The official called on the international community to take responsibility towards these women and children, who came from about 60 countries, to support international efforts to fight terrorism. The AANES is overburdened with humanitarian, economic, and political challenges and is under constant security threats, Ibrahim said.
By Stella Youssef