AANES confirms Red Cross report on ISIS children detained in northeast Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, a prominent official in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) approved on a report issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) providing that hundreds of ISIS children are detained in detention centers along with adults, demanding the countries to repatriate their citizens to end this problem.
“Those children, most of whom are male, have been transferred from Hawl Camp to prisons,” the ICRC report said, on Wednesday.
Hawl Camp, which is managed by the AANES, hosts about 60,000 people, of which are 9,544 ISIS children and women.
Co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department Abdulkarim Omar said that “they were forced to move the children from the camp after they turned 12 years old.”
“Those children are now in temporary centers until rehabilitation and integration centers are prepared for them,” he added.
In a phone call with North Press, Omar revealed intentions to establish 16 centers similar to the rehabilitative Hori Center outside of Qamishli, but due to the lack of support they have failed to do so. He asked the concerned counties to provide the required support.
Hori Center, in the Tel Ma’rouf village in the countryside of Qamishli, is the first center dedicated for the rehabilitation of children who are victims of extremist ideology in northeastern Syria. It is home to a number of children formerly involved with ISIS members.
“The solution of the dilemma of those children is, first, to return them to their homelands, “because their staying paves the way for the formation of a new radical generation. Second, to provide support to establish the rehabilitation centers,” Omar referred.
The ICRC renewed its appeals to the countries to repatriate their citizens from Hawl Camp and abide by family reunification “according to international law.”
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured thousands of ISIS members who surrendered during the Baghouz battle, which ended with the SDF taking control of the last pocket of ISIS in eastern Syria.
On March 23, the SDF called on regional and international powers to bear their responsibilities in solving the issue of ISIS detainees and their families through supporting the AANES at various security, political, economic and reconstruction levels.
International meeting
On June 3, the AANES held a meeting that included representatives of most of the European countries’ ministries of foreign affairs, the European Commission, and representatives of the US and Canadian ministries of foreign affairs.
The meeting discussed the issue of the children, women, and ISIS detainees in northeast Syria.
During the meeting, the AANES demanded countries to repatriate their citizens present in the region.
Omar indicated that they asked the countries to support Hawl Camp, build rehabilitation centers for children, and compensate the victims of the war against ISIS, which lasted for years in northeast Syria.
Omar pointed out that the issue of the children and members of ISIS is “an international issue and does not concern the AANES alone, and suspending it paves the way for the formation of a new terrorist generation and organizations.”