France repatriates 15 women, 32 children from Syrian detention camps

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - France repatriated 15 women and 32 children from camps in northeast Syria (Rojava), its foreign ministry said on Tuesday. 

“France today carried out a new operation to return to the nation’s territory French children and mothers who were in the camps in northeastern Syria,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the operation allowed the return of 15 women and 32 children.

Thousands of children of foreign nationals with suspected links to the Islamic State (ISIS) live in the Roj and al-Hol detention camps in northeast Syria, with human rights groups calling camp conditions “filthy,” “often inhuman,” and “life-threatening.” 

“The minors have been handed over to the services responsible for child support and will be subject to medical and social follow-up,” the ministry added. 

“The adults were handed over to the competent judicial authorities.” 

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who control the majority of northeast Syria, fought the lion’s share of the battle against ISIS and arrested thousands of the terror group’s fighters along with their wives and children when they took control of the group’s last stronghold in Syria in 2019. 

Over 50,000 ISIS-linked people are kept in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka province, while thousands of others are kept in Roj camp. 

The camp of al-Hol, located in the far southeast of Hasaka, has been branded a breeding ground for ISIS and described as a “ticking time bomb” by authorities, who say the situation in the squalid camp is “very dangerous.” 

France also thanked the administration in Rojava “for its cooperation, which made this operation possible.” 

Kurdish authorities in the region have repeatedly called on the international community to repatriate their nationals in the jihadist facilities, but their calls have largely gone unanswered as most countries are unwilling to bring back their ISIS-linked nationals due to security concerns. 

Earlier in January, Spain repatriated two women and 13 children from the squalid al-Hol camp during a Spanish delegation visit to Rojava.