U.S. conducts “largest” repatriation of citizens from NE Syria ISIS camps
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The United States announced on Tuesday repatriating 12 individuals, including minors, of the families of the Islamic State (ISIS) militants from Northeast Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated the “complex repatriation and resettlement” was carried out early on Tuesday and involved 11 U.S. nationals, including five minors, and a “9-year-old non-U.S. citizen sibling of one of the U.S. citizen minors,” emphasizing, “This is the largest single repatriation of U.S. citizens from northeast Syria to date.”
The New York Times, citing two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said 10 individuals were from one family consisting of a woman named Brandy Salman and her nine American-born children, ranging from about six to about 25.
The remaining two half-brothers are the children of a ISIS member named Abdelhamid Al-Madioum who was repatriated in 2020 to the U.S. and was charged with supporting terrorism, which he pleaded guilty.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the U.S.-led Global Coalition defeated the group after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, bringing an end to ISIS’ self-proclaimed caliphate.
After Baghouz, thousands of ISIS fighters were transferred to prisons and detention centers, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in areas run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The issue of ISIS family members constitutes an ongoing challenge for the internationally unrecognized AANES, which repeatedly demands concerned countries to repatriate their nationals.
Additionally, Blinken pointed out that six Canadian citizens, four Dutch citizens, and one Finnish citizen were also repatriated in the same operation and will go to their respective countries. He said there were eight children among them.
Blinken thanked the SDF for their assistance in facilitating the repatriation and stressed “The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in the displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria is for countries to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for wrongdoing.”
According to the State Department, 51 American citizens, including 30 children and 21 adults, have been repatriated to the U.S. since 2016.