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Syrian Kurdish Officials Hand over 50 Women and Children Linked to ISIS to Tajikistan

FILE - Kurdish forces patrol al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the ISIS group in Hasakeh province, Syria, on April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)
FILE - Kurdish forces patrol al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the ISIS group in Hasakeh province, Syria, on April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)
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Syrian Kurdish Officials Hand over 50 Women and Children Linked to ISIS to Tajikistan

FILE - Kurdish forces patrol al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the ISIS group in Hasakeh province, Syria, on April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)
FILE - Kurdish forces patrol al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the ISIS group in Hasakeh province, Syria, on April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)

Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria on Thursday handed over 50 women and children — family members of ISIS militants — to a delegation from Tajikistan for repatriation back home.
The 17 women and 33 children, all citizens of Tajikistan, were handed over to a delegation headed by the Tajik ambassador to Kuwait, Zubaydullo Zubaydzoda, Syrian Kurdish officials said.
After the ISIS group declared its caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in June 2014, thousands of foreigners, including hundreds from Tajikistan, came to Syria to join the group and live with their families.
After ISIS was defeated, most of the militants' family members were held in the sprawling al-Hol camp and the smaller Roj camp in northeastern Syria.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said the women and children were taken to the airport of Qamishli where they boarded a plane “to be reunited with their families” in Tajikistan on Thursday.
The repatriation came almost a month after an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people. The massacre was carried out by four suspected attackers who were arrested and identified as Tajik nationals. ISIS claimed responsibility and said four of its fighters had targeted the hall in Russia.
Over the past few years thousands of people, mostly Iraqis have been repatriated from al-Hol, which houses tens of thousands, mostly ISIS militants' wives and children but also supporters of the militant group.
The heavily-guarded al-Hol, overseen by Syrian Kurdish-led forces allied with the United States, was once home to 73,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis. Over the past few years, the population dropped to about 43,000, according to Sheikhmous Ahmad, a Kurdish official overseeing camps for displaced people in northeastern Syria.
Tajikistan has said that at the height of ISIS, more than 1,000 fighters from the country joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, including ISIS. One of the most prominent was Gulmurod Khalimov, an officer with Tajikistan’s special forces who defected and joined ISIS in Syria in 2015.
Khalimov rose through ISIS ranks to become one of its top military commanders. In September 2017, the Russian military said he was killed in a Russian airstrike in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq.
Thursday’s repatriation of Tajik citizens is not the first. Last May, 104 Tajik citizens were returned home, including 31 women and 73 children. And the year before, 146 women and children were repatriated.

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Lavrov: Moscow Maintains Communication with Damascus, Will Not Withdraw from the Region

Syrian forces stop a car at a checkpoint after taking control of the port of Tartus earlier this month. (AFP)
Syrian forces stop a car at a checkpoint after taking control of the port of Tartus earlier this month. (AFP)
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Lavrov: Moscow Maintains Communication with Damascus, Will Not Withdraw from the Region

Syrian forces stop a car at a checkpoint after taking control of the port of Tartus earlier this month. (AFP)
Syrian forces stop a car at a checkpoint after taking control of the port of Tartus earlier this month. (AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to the Middle East, stating that Moscow “has not and will not withdraw from the region.” He emphasized ongoing communication with Syria’s new leadership and expressed readiness to support the political process in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov attributed Syria’s deteriorating situation to the previous regime, blaming its unwillingness to implement reforms and share power with the opposition.

“The refusal of the former Syrian regime to make any changes or share power with the opposition was one of the primary reasons for its collapse,” he said.

Lavrov noted that over the past decade, since President Bashar al-Assad requested Russian intervention in the Syrian war and the launch of the Astana peace process, Damascus had delayed advancing the political path.

“Despite support from Arab nations, Syrian authorities showed reluctance to move forward politically and sought to maintain the status quo,” he explained.

He highlighted Russia’s repeated calls for the Syrian government to engage with the Constitutional Committee, established during the 2018 Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, and to actively work on drafting a new constitution.

Lavrov also pointed to economic challenges exacerbated by sanctions, which have stifled Syria’s economy, and US control over oil-rich eastern regions. Resources were exploited to fuel separatist ambitions in northeastern Syria, he remarked.

Moreover, the FM revealed details of Moscow’s earlier discussions with Kurdish groups, reiterating his country’s position that Kurdish rights should be guaranteed within the constitutional frameworks of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Türkiye.

He argued that the previous Syrian regime’s reluctance to engage in political dialogue resulted in stalled reforms proposed by the United Nations, Moscow and Cairo platforms, and Istanbul-based opposition groups. This inaction, he said, created a vacuum that ultimately led to the collapse.

Furthermore, he dismissed claims that his country’s withdrawal from Syria would signal its departure from the Middle East.

“Russia has not and will not leave the region,” he declared. Without directly addressing the status of Russian military bases in Syria, Lavrov emphasized: “Our embassy never left Damascus, and we maintain ongoing communication with the authorities.”

He also stressed Russia’s willingness to facilitate inclusive dialogue involving all national, political and sectarian factions, as well as relevant international stakeholders. Lavrov underscored that recent discussions with Türkiye, Gulf nations, and other parties demonstrated widespread agreement that Russia and Iran must be involved in the Syrian peace process if sustainable results are to be achieved.

For his part, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East and Africa, reaffirmed Russia’s focus on developments in Syria, describing relations with Damascus as a “priority of Russian foreign policy.”

Reports on Tuesday suggested that Bogdanov might soon lead a Russian delegation to Damascus. However, a Russian diplomatic source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that no date for the visit has been confirmed. The visit, which was reportedly postponed, would mark the first by a senior Russian official to Damascus since the fall of Assad’s regime in December.

Meanwhile, media reports indicated that Moscow is facing logistical challenges in withdrawing military equipment from Syria, due to restrictions imposed by Syrian authorities on the movement of Russian ships in territorial waters.

According to the English-language edition of RT, the Russian ship Sparta 2, designated to transport military equipment and weapons, was denied entry to the Port of Tartus, where Russia maintains its only overseas naval base.