Overnight news has emerged that the British government is going to repatriate three British orphans from Syrian territory formerly under the control of ISIS as early as the start of next week. On Thursday, Dr Abdulkarim Omar who is the head of foreign relations in the Kurdish-led area of northern Syria took to Twitter to post a photo of himself with the UK’s special representative for Syria Martin Longden with the caption “three British orphans from ISIS parents were handed over to a delegation representing the British Foreign Ministry.”
The Sun had earlier revealed that the children were rescued with the help of SAS troops, who escorted Foreign Office staff into the region where the children were being held in armoured vehicles. The British government had previously and repeatedly ruled out repatriating British citizens trapped in former ISIS territory and this included more than 30 children in facilities ran by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement “These innocent, orphaned, children should never have been subjected to the horrors of war. We have facilitated their return home, because it was the right thing to do. Now they must be allowed the privacy and given the support to return to a normal life”. This statement was met with fierce criticism in the replies relating to the treatment of Harry Dunn’s family in relation to his death earlier this year.
However, the London-based advocacy group CAGE reacted positively to the news of the repatriation, saying in a statement: “hope that the Government will now start to comply with established international law, rather than playing politics with the lives of its citizens.” In addition to this Alison Griffin the Head of Humanitarian Campaigns at Save the Children, stated: “Today the UK government is transforming the lives of these innocent children who have been through terrible things that are far beyond their control. They will now have the precious chance to recover, have happy childhoods and live full lives. We should be proud of everyone who has worked to make this happen”.
It has been previously reported that the Home secretary Priti Patel had blocked a move to repatriate orphans trapped in formerly IS-held territory. The repatriation or otherwise of these adults and children has become a growing diplomatic issue since the territorial defeat of the terrorist organisation’s proto-state in the region in March 2019.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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