Kyrgyzstan Repatriates 95 from Syria Camps

Al-Hol camp in Syria. AFP file photo
Al-Hol camp in Syria. AFP file photo
TT

Kyrgyzstan Repatriates 95 from Syria Camps

Al-Hol camp in Syria. AFP file photo
Al-Hol camp in Syria. AFP file photo

Kyrgyzstan said Wednesday that it had repatriated 95 wives and children of militants from detention camps in Syria, in the third such operation by the Central Asian country.

"Thirty-one women and 64 children who are Kyrgyz citizens were transferred from Syria to Kyrgyzstan," said the foreign ministry in a statement, without detailing how many more of its nationals remain in internment camps in northeastern Syria.

Thousands of Kyrgyzstan nationals joined extremist organizations in Syria, and the return of the families of ISIS militants who were captured or killed is a thorny issue for many countries.

The ministry said it was "grateful" to the United States for "full assistance and logistical support" in the operation, as well as thanking UNICEF and the Red Cross.

Kyrgyzstan has already twice taken back its citizens from Syria or Iraq. In March 2021, 79 children were repatriated while in February this year another 59 women and children were returned.



Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
TT

Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

The United States wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, but the best way to help people would be to end the war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
"Israel, by the standards it set itself, has accomplished the goals that it set for itself," Blinken told reporters during a visit to Brussels. "This should be a time to end the war."
On Tuesday, after the expiry of a 30-day US deadline for Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Washington said Israel was
not blocking aid to Gaza and therefore not violating US law.
Eight international aid groups said Israel had failed to meet the US demands to improve access for assistance. Food security experts have said it is likely that
famine is imminent in parts of Gaza.
Biden, whose term ends in January and who will be replaced with his predecessor Donald Trump, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
Since then, more than 43,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, with 2 million displaced people and much of the strip reduced to rubble.
Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal of destroying Hamas. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.