Rojava hands over 16 ISIS-affiliated children, women to Belgium

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) handed over 16 Belgian children and their mothers to Brussels on Thursday, the region’s foreign affairs office told Rudaw English. They are family members of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters. 

“They are ten children and six women, who are their mothers,” the office said on Friday, adding that the group has arrived in Belgium.

This handover came during a visit to Rojava on Thursday by a Belgian delegation, led by Eric De Muynck, head of the Syria dossier at foreign ministry.

De Muynck met with Abdulkarim Omar, head of Rojava’s Foreign Relations Commission, thanking his administration “for the assistance provided to ensure the return of these ten young Belgian children and their mothers to Belgium.”

“My government is continuing to look at how we can provide additional humanitarian support in northeast Syria, including by providing medical equipment in the fight against COVID-19 and support to de-radicalization project, with children as a priority,” added the Belgian official. 

The Belgian nationals were living at the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka city, where nearly 60,000 ISIS-affiliated people are held. Most of the residents of the camp are children.

Kurdish and US officials have made repeated calls on the international community to repatriate their nationals, but only a few countries have responded positively. Most are worried about security concerns and are generally limiting repatriations to children.

There are fears that al-Hol camp is a breeding ground for terrorism. 

General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told the American Enterprise Institute in a webinar in late April that children in al-Hol “are being radicalized, and unless we find a way to repatriate them, reintegrate them and de-radicalize them, we're giving ourselves the gift of fighters five to seven years down the road, and that is a profound problem.” 

ISIS took control of swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The group was territorially defeated in 2019, however, the militants continue to pose a threat in both countries. 

Belgium foreign ministry spokesperson Marie Cherchari told Rudaw English in March that Brussels would soon expand its repatriation of children from al-Hol and the smaller camp Roj because their security situation has "deteriorated."

"The change in policy is based on the reality on the ground. The security situation has deteriorated," Cherchari said.

The Belgian foreign ministry estimated in December 2020 that 73 of its citizens were in the camps, Cherchari said – 14 men, 21 women, and 38 children. Thirteen of the women will be eligible for repatriation, Cherchari explained. Nine of the women have been sentenced by Belgian courts, and four are subject to international arrest warrants.