Norway takes steps to repatriate 5 children born into ISIS family

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria on Sunday began steps toward repatriating five Norwegian children who were born into an Islamic State (ISIS) family, following a visit by a ministerial delegation from Oslo.

A Norwegian delegation headed by foreign ministry representative Christine Netland visited Ayn Issa on Sunday where they were received by Abdulkarim Omar, the co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), known by Kurds as Rojava.

The two parties held a meeting that lasted for more than two hours but was closed to the media. Omar confirmed the visit in a tweet along with a statement from the NES. 

Though they did not disclose the details of the meeting, Rudaw understands the Norwegian authorities received five children who were found in areas of Syria previously controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS).

Their names and ages were not immediately disclosed. Rudaw has learned the father is of African descent and the mother Norwegian. Both are deceased ISIS members.

The children will be taken to Norway via Erbil on Monday, multiple sources have told Rudaw.

Netland hailed the role Rojava authorities played in dealing with refugees and IDPs in remarks made to reporters. 

"It is a great pleasure to be here today. I have just concluded a very successful meeting with Dr. Omar. We have discussed the humanitarian needs in northeast Syria,” he said.

"Let me say that Norway recognizes the challenges and the pressure on the local authorities in northeast Syria. We also recognize the efforts made by the authorities and my good friend Dr. Omar in the handling of a large number of internally displaced people in northeast Syria,” Netland added.

He expressed hope that the meeting "will be the start of a very successful cooperation between our two peoples in the time to come” and he will convey what he has learned upon his return to Oslo.

 

Also on Sunday, Iraqi authorities gave Ankara 122 Turkish children of parents suspected of joining ISIS. 

Last month, seven Swedish children of ISIS members were handed over to their Swedish-Norwegian grandfather by the Kurdish administration in Rojava. Sweden’s public broadcaster (SVT) identified the father of the children as Michael Skramo. 

Families of ISIS members who escaped from the last vestiges of the ISIS caliphate are among 74,000 people being sheltered at al-Hol camp in Hasaka, Syria. Among them are some 2,500 foreign children identified as essentially stateless by the UN’s children’s office (UNICEF). Conditions in the camp are desperate. At least 211 children under age 5 have died, according to UN figures. 

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) provide security for the camp. They are the partnered ground forces of the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition. The SDF is predominately comprised of Kurdish fighters from the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG).

Many Western nations have resisted repatriating their nationals, citing security concerns and fears they will not be able to collect evidence to obtain a conviction of the ISIS members in their home courts. 

Grandparents of two children, who are in al-Hol camp with their French mother who had joined ISIS, have filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights over the Paris’s refusal to repatriate them.