Syria Kurds hand over five Islamic State orphans to Norway
Abdul Karim Omar, The co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the autonomous administration of North and East Syria (Rojava) (right) and the representative of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kristen Netland signed formal hand over documents for five Islamic State orphans of Norwegian nationality, June 3, 2019. Photo: ANHA
Al-Hol Camp, Syria,— The Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) in northeast Syria on Monday handed over five orphans from families of the Islamic State group to Norwegian authorities, a spokesman said.
“Following a request made by the Kingdom of Norway … five Norwegian orphans related to IS jihadists were handed over to a delegation from the Norwegian foreign ministry,” Kamal Akef said in a statement.
Norwegian Foreign Ministry Representative Kristen Netland visited Syrian Kurdistan on June 2 on an official visit of the Kingdom of Norway. He met with officials of the Department of Foreign Relations of the autonomous administration of North and East Syria, during which he touched upon the humanitarian situation in the region and discussed several issues, and the children of Islamic State who were in al-Hol camp.
After a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the media, the co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department, Abdul Karim Omar, and the representative of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kristen Netland signed formal hand over documents for five children of Norwegian nationality who were the sons of mercenaries who had been found by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF) during their recent battle against mercenaries in Baghouz and later transferred to al-Hol camp.
The Norwegian official thanked the autonomous administration for providing assistance to Norwegian citizens in their areas and the identification of five Norwegian children as orphans.
For his part, Spokesman for the Foreign Relations Department Kamal Akef published a statement on their official page, in which he spoke about the handover of five Norwegian children on Monday, at the request of the Kingdom.
The Kurdish authorities in Syrian Kurdistan said Sunday they plan to hand 800 women and children, including relatives of jihadists, to their families in the first such transfer from an overcrowded camp.
In May Kurdish authorities in Syrian Kurdistan handed over 148 Uzbek women and children linked to the Islamic State group to diplomats from the Central Asian country for repatriation.
The IS proto-state was declared defeated by Kurdish-led forces on March 23, following a nearly five-year-long offensive against the group.
Thousands of foreign fighters are being held in Kurdish-run prisons, while their wives and children languish in displacement camps.
Among the hordes of Syrians and Iraqis, some 12,000 foreigners are held in a fenced-off section of the Al-Hol camp, under the watch of Kurdish forces.
U.S. has for years supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). But U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced the pullout from Syria.
The Kurdish PYD and its powerful military wing YPG/YPJ considered the most effective fighting force against IS. The YPG, which make up the backbone of the SDF forces, has seized swathes of Syria from Islamic State.
Copyright © 2019, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | AFP | ANHA
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