"Repatriate 27,000 Syrian Children" says United Nations
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New Delhi, Feb 1: The United Nations Chief of Counter Terrorism has asked the countries to repatriate the 27,000 children, who are stranded in massive camps in north-eastern Syria. Many of the children are sons and daughters of Islamic State (ISIS) extremists who controlled the large shrouds of Iraq and Syria. The 27,000 children have been stranded and they stand abandoned to their fate.
According to Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, the horrific and heart wrenching situation of the children in the 'Al Hol' camp is currently among the most pressing issues in the world. They are also vulnerable to be preyed on by Islamic State enforcers. Further, the children are at risk of radicalization within the camp. 'Al Hol' or 'Al Hawl' is the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country. The camp is presently home to almost 62,000 residents.
Voronkov said there are children from 60 countries in the camps who are the responsibility of their member states, not of Syria or the groups that control the camps. Kurdish fighters are guarding Al Hol and other camps as well as thousands of Islamic State fighters and boys in prisons. He also shared that a number of countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan that convened the virtual meeting, have collectively repatriated nearly 1,000 children and their family members.
More than 80 per cent of the residents are women and children, who have fled to the camp after Islamic State militants lost their last Syrian stronghold in the year 2019 in the wake of Syrian Civil War. The camp is situated at the southern outskirts of the town of Al Hawl in northern Syria. It is close to the Syria-Iraq border. The camp holds the individuals displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control the Al Hawl camp.
The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing multi-sided civil war, that is being fought between the Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic which is led by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and various domestic and foreign forces who are opposing both the Syrian govt and each other. The unrest in Syria was started on March 15, 2011 as part of the wider 2011 Arab Spring protests. It was escalated because of the discontent with the Syrian government.