Finland Aims to Repatriate ISIS Children from Syria 'as Soon as Possible'

A general view of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. (Reuters)
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Finland Aims to Repatriate ISIS Children from Syria 'as Soon as Possible'

A general view of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. (Reuters)

Finland will try to repatriate children of Finnish mothers who traveled to Syria to join ISIS “as soon as possible”, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Monday.

Finland is one of a number of European Union member states facing a decision over whether to bring home citizens with ISIS links who are trapped at the al-Hol camp displacement camp controlled by Kurds in northeastern Syria.

More than 30 children born to 11 Finnish women are at al-Hol, according to Finnish media, and the fate of the mothers has caused divisions in Finland’s five-party coalition government that took office last week.

The Center Party, a coalition ally of Marin’s Social Democrats, opposes letting the wives of ISIS fighters back into Finland but supports repatriating their children.

The party is worried by the rise in the polls of the opposition nationalist Finns Party, which says repatriating ISIS detainees could endanger Finland’s security.

Marin said that, in an attempt to resolve the dispute in the coalition, the government had decided each case should be judged on its own merits.

“The aim of the authorities’ actions is to protect the interests of the child in all circumstances,” Marin said, leaving the door open for the repatriation of some of the mothers with their children.

“There is no obligation to assist adults who went to the region of their own accord,” she said.

Repatriating children without their mothers is unlikely to happen as Syrian Kurdish forces, who control the territory that includes al-Hol, oppose separating children from their mothers.

Marin’s government faces questioning on the issue in parliament on Tuesday.



Man Killed in Rocket Attack on Israel’s Nahariya

People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Man Killed in Rocket Attack on Israel’s Nahariya

People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A 30-year-old man was killed by rocket shrapnel next to a playground in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on Thursday, Israel's MDA medical service said.
The Israeli military said about 10 rockets had been launched from Lebanon towards Nahariya. "Most of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified," the army said in a statement.
Channel 12 said three rockets hit the coastal town.
Air sirens went off in a number of locations across northern Israel during the morning, but it was not immediately clear how many missiles had been launched from Lebanon.
"The Israeli government is not safeguarding my security, my residents or the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation like this," Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly told public broadcaster Kan.
"We are being attacked (by Hezbollah) in a massive way with great force," he said.
The Israeli military has inflicted huge devastation in Lebanon since it went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending in troops.

The Israeli military said Wednesday three soldiers, including a 70-year-old, were killed in south Lebanon.

The army announced two soldiers were killed in the same incident including 70-year-old reservist Ze'ev 'Jabo' Hanoch Erlich, after it had said earlier Wednesday that a 22-year-old soldier from Jerusalem "fell during combat in southern Lebanon”

The deaths bring to 52 the army's losses in Lebanon since the start of ground operations.

Another soldier was heavily injured during the same incident that killed the two soldiers including Erlich, the military said, adding he had been taken to hospital.