Britain repatriates first ISIS woman with child from NE Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – British government repatriated on Thursday the wife of a militant of Islamic State Organization (ISIS) with her son from Hawl Camp in northeastern Syria.
This is the first time the British government repatriates its nationals of ISIS from northeast Syria since the military defeat of ISIS in its latest stronghold in eastern Deir ez-Zor.
The repatriation was done during a visit paid by UK Special Representative for Syria, Jonathan Hargreaves, and British Foreign Office delegate, Nicola Moss, to the Department of Foreign Relations of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in the city of Qamishli.
The Foreign Office said that British policy to those held in Syria remained unchanged, and that it considered requests for help on “a case by case basis”, but campaigners said it was a significant first step, The Guardian reported.
Hargreaves tweeted, “UK officials have facilitated the repatriation of two British Nationals from Syria.”
There are about 60 Britons, including 35 children, in northeast Syria’s camps which are under the control of the AANES and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Hawl Camp, 45 km east of the city of Hasakah, is a house for 55.829 individuals, including 28.725 Iraqis, 18.850 Syrians and 8.254 of foreign nationalities, according to the latest statistics obtained by North Press.
The camp witnesses murders with different methods, most notably firearms. The management of the camp fears that the latest Turkish threats of invading areas in northern Syria would pave the way for ISIS to reorganize its ranks; North Press cited a statement by the management as saying.
On September 30, US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Lindsey Graham introduced the Syria Detainee and Displaced Persons Act to address the humanitarian and security concerns posed by the camps in north and east Syria, specifically the Hawl Camp, which houses thousands of displaced people and detainees affiliated with ISIS.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) highlighted early in September the need that international community support efforts to “eliminate the ISIS threat” through repatriation of their nationals residing in the camp.