Canada to Repatriate 23 Citizens from Syria

The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
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Canada to Repatriate 23 Citizens from Syria

The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Syria holds thousands of foreign women and children with ties to the ISIS group who are not being repatriated by their home countries. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Canada will repatriate twenty-three citizens who have been detained in northeast Syria in camps for family members of ISIS group fighters, officials and a lawyer said Friday.

It would be the largest such repatriation of ISIS family members yet for Canada, and it comes after the families challenged the government in court, arguing Ottawa was obliged to repatriate the group under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, AFP said.

Earlier Friday, the foreign ministry announced its decision to repatriate six Canadian women and 13 infants. And a court later ruled that four men seeking repatriation as part of the group must also be sent back to Canada, said lawyer Barbara Jackman, who is representing one of the men.

"I've spoken to the parents and they're really, really happy," Jackman said of the court decision, adding that the judge requested that the men be repatriated "as soon as reasonably possible."

The foreign ministry said in a statement: "The safety and security of Canadians is our government's top priority.

"We continue to evaluate the provision of extraordinary assistance on a case by case basis, including repatriation to Canada, in line with the policy framework adopted in 2021," it said.

Up until now the government of Justin Trudeau has treated the detained ISIS families on a case-by-case basis, and in four years only a handful of women and children have been repatriated.

Since the destruction of the so-called ISIS "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq in 2019, more than 42,400 foreign adults and children with alleged ties to the ISIS group have been held in camps in Syria, according to Human Rights Watch.

Repatriating them is a highly sensitive issue for many countries, but rights groups have denounced their reluctance to bring back their own nationals from the camps, controlled mostly by Syrian Kurds.

Human Rights Watch said around 30 Canadian citizens, including 10 infants, remain in the camps.

Farida Deif, the group's head in Canada, said that Global Affairs Canada has informed a number of them by letter that they fulfill the requirements for repatriation.

However, she said, "none of the men have been notified of anything or have been part of any agreements thus far."

The authorities did not say when the 19 would come to Canada or whether any of them would face legal proceedings for their association with ISIS.

Last October Canada brought back two women and two children from Syria.

In 2020, Ottawa allowed the return of a five-year-old orphan girl from Syria after her uncle initiated legal action against the Canadian government.



Lebanon’s Berri: Resolution 1701 Stands Unchanged

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein during his recent visit to Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein during his recent visit to Beirut (AFP)
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Lebanon’s Berri: Resolution 1701 Stands Unchanged

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein during his recent visit to Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein during his recent visit to Beirut (AFP)

Lebanon is monitoring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to US President Joe Biden’s push for a ceasefire in southern Lebanon.

Biden has sent advisors Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk to Tel Aviv to discuss the matter with Netanyahu, marking what Lebanese officials see as the last chance for progress before the US presidential election on Nov. 5.

Lebanese leaders, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, are cautious about predicting results.

Mikati did not comment after his recent meetings with US advisors.

However, Berri highlighted Lebanon’s prior agreement with Hochstein to a ceasefire, deploying the Lebanese army in the south, and enforcing UN Resolution 1701.

Berri reaffirmed that Lebanon won’t alter these terms, saying, “What’s agreed is agreed; Resolution 1701 stands unchanged.”

The speaker clarified that Lebanon has fulfilled its commitments and is now waiting for Netanyahu’s response, noting that Lebanon is ready to implement the ceasefire if Hochstein can secure Netanyahu’s agreement.

“The ball is now in Netanyahu’s court,” Berri said, pointing out that Netanyahu has previously agreed to and then withdrawn from ceasefire deals.

According to sources, Hezbollah is fully behind Berri’s mandate for a ceasefire.

Hezbollah’s newly appointed Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, recently confirmed the party’s support.

Qassem is closely following developments with the party’s military leadership, while Hezbollah’s MPs continue discussions with other blocs to clarify their position.

Lebanese sources stressed that reaching a ceasefire is critical and must happen as soon as possible, asserting that Netanyahu should not leverage the situation in Gaza as a pretext to avoid a southern ceasefire.

As Biden’s envoys prepare to meet with Netanyahu, Lebanese officials remain focused on whether this effort will result in an agreement.

The ongoing clashes near the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, where Hezbollah is actively resisting Israeli advances, have intensified the situation, making the outcome of these discussions crucial.