The Kurdish-led administration of northeast Syria, also known as Rojava, has handed over 30 children of ISIS-linked parents to Russian authorities.
The children were residing in al-Hol camp, 45 km east of the city of al-Hassakah in northeastern Syria.
The new move brings up the number of children repatriated by Moscow to 106. Refugee camps in Rojava-held areas are estimated to host 2,000 more ISIS wives and children.
News of the handover of the children to Russian authorities was made at a joint press conference by Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of foreign relations at the Rojava administration, and Larisa Nikolaevna, the secretary of the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights.
“We have transferred 30 ISIS-linked orphans,” Omar said.
“The children are innocent... we believe the place of these children is not in the camps. They should live somewhere peaceful," he explained.
If children are left in northeast Syrian camps, "a radical and new generation of terrorists will rise, they will be worse than the current ISIS and they will be brainwashed," he added.
Nikolaevna thanked the Kurdish-led administration for its efforts and cooperation in helping repatriate the children.
“Within a year, the Rojava, in coordination with the Russian government, made exceptional efforts to return these orphaned children to their families and their original home,” said Nikolaevna.
A delegation of Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova arrived at the Qamishli Airport on Thursday to escort the children back to their homelands.
Russia, in the past months of 2020, has repatriated 41 Russian children from al-Hol and Roj camps, which are both run by Rojava.
In 2019, Rojava handed over 35 children to Russia as well.
More recently, the Kurdish-led administration handed over an additional 30 children to Russian authorities, bringing the total of minors transferred to 106.
