59 women and children repatriated to Kyrgyzstan from camps in Syria, US military says

Centcom says move helps resolve ongoing humanitarian crisis in camps

Al Hol camp in Syria, which holds relatives of suspected ISIS group fighters. AFP

Fifty-nine women and children have been repatriated from Syrian conflict areas to Kyrgyzstan, the US military said on Thursday.

“Yesterday, 59 women and children were repatriated to the Kyrgyz Republic from internally displaced persons camps in north-east Syria,” US Central Command said in a statement.

“We are grateful to the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic for working to resolve the ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from the dismantling of the so-called ISIS caliphate.”

The US military asserted that the successful repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration of residents of the camps in north-eastern Syria back to their countries of origin is the only long-term solution to the crisis.

Similar repatriations have been made by the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands in the years since the fall of ISIS.

In January, two women who were married to ISIS fighters and 13 children were repatriated to Spain from Syria, the Spanish government said at the time.

The Spanish women were arrested upon landing in Madrid and will be brought before a judge at the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's highest criminal court, on terror charges.

The children were taken into care by social services in the Madrid region.

Also last month, more than 30 children who had been stranded in camps in areas controlled by ISIS were among a group of people that were repatriated to France.

The latest return of French citizens included 15 women aged 19 to 56 and 32 minors, the national counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office said.

The women were held in custody — some on the basis of earlier arrest warrants — while the children were placed in the care of protective services.

Canada also said it would repatriate 23 citizens from Syrian camps.