Syria’s AANES hands ISIS-related woman, 2 children to Slovakia
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Tuesday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced handing over a woman and two children of the Islamic State (ISIS) family members to a delegation from the Government of the Slovak Republic.
This came on sidelines of the visit by the delegation headed by Igor Pokojný, Director of Consular Department of Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, to the city of Qamishli, northwest Syria, on Sunday, according to the AANES Foreign Relations Department.
Among the issues that the delegation and officials in the Foreign Relations Department discussed were the catastrophic earthquake that hit Syria on Feb. 6 and political, economic, humanitarian and security impediments faced by the AANES.
Rubel Baho, deputy co-chair of the Department of Foreign Relations, said, “The international community falls short when it comes to ISIS family members in Roj and Hawl camps.”
He added that the AANES will cooperate with the Government of the Slovak Republic and all countries with nationals, including children, in the AANES-held areas to facilitate repatriation processes.
The AANES handed over the ISIS family members to the Slovak delegation according to a formal documentation signed by the administration.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani, and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
This is the first time a Slovak delegation visits the region to repatriate nationals.
There is no available information about the number of Slovak nationals in camps in northeast Syria.
Hawl and Roj, the most dangerous camps globally, are among several other camps in northeast Syria that hold ISIS family members, including those from foreign countries, who joined its ranks during era of the ISIS so-called Islamic Caliphate in 2014.