Uzbekistan repatriates 92 ISIS women and children from northeast Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) handed over 92 women and children of the families of ISIS to a formal delegation of the Uzbek government in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria.
Since the elimination of ISIS in March 2019, the AANES and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been calling for the repatriation of thousands of ISIS wives and children in the camps.
On Thursday, the AANES announced on its official Facebook account that a delegation of the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Uzbeki ambassador to Kuwait Bahramjan Alayuf, arrived in the region.
The handing over of the women and children occured after an official document was signed between the Uzbek ambassador and co-chair of the AANES Foreign Affairs Department Abdulkarim Omar during a press conference in Qamishli.
The document stipulates the handing over of 92 people holding Uzbek nationality or of Uzbek origins, including 68 children, 24 women, and 7 ISIS orphans.
Alayuf said that his government managed to document 180 citizens holding Uzbek nationality in the camps in northeast Syria in order to return them to their country.
It is expected that women and children will undergo a specific rehabilitation program to facilitate their return to normal life, according to Alayuf.
Omer said that they depend on written consent of mothers of ISIS children and orphans if they have special cases.
In a report in February, the United Nations spoke of “cases of extremism, training, and fundraising in Hawl Camp, as well as indoctrination of minors to become future fighters in the organization.”