U.S. praises Kyrgyzstan’s repatriation of 22 people from NE Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The U.S. Department of State praised on Friday the Kyrgyz Republic’s repatriation of 22 nationals of the Islamic State (ISIS) families from Northeast Syria.
The State Department said in a statement this is the second repatriation carried out by the Kyrgyz Republic in 2024.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that on July 19, 22 people from Kyrgyzstan, including eight women and 14 children, were successfully repatriated from Hawl and Roj camps in northeast Syria.
The U.S.’ statement pointed out that since early 2023 the Kyrgyz Republic has repatriated 454 nationals through U.S.-assisted operations, including 121 people in 2024, ” a substantial portion of the nearly 228 non-Syrian or Iraqi third country nationals returned to their countries of origin so far in 2024″
The latest repatriation carried out by Kyrgyzstan was on Feb. 19, when the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) handed over 99 ISIS detainees, including 72 children and 27 women.
The U.S. expressed gratitude to international and local partners, particularly the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for assisting repatriations, emphasizing its willingness to help other countries with their efforts to bring back their citizens.
The statement reiterated that repatriations remain the only durable solution to the humanitarian and security challenges in northeast Syria.