SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United Nations urged countries to repatriate the 27,000 children stranded in a massive camp in northeastern Syria, AP reported on Saturday.
“The horrific situation of the children in al-Hol [camp] is one of the most pressing issues in the world today,” U.N. counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
Al-Hol, the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in Hasaka governorate, is currently home to almost 62,000 residents, according to U.N. humanitarian officials.
More than 80% are women and children, many who fled there after ISIS militants lost their last Syrian stronghold in 2019, AP reported.
Voronkov said the 27,000 children “remain stranded, abandoned to their fate,” vulnerable to be preyed on by ISIS enforces, “and at risk of radicalization within the camp”.
The U.N. official added that there were children from 60 countries in the camp who are the responsibility of their member states, not of Syria or the groups that control the camps, AP said.
He said a number of countries — including Russia and Kazakhstan that convened the virtual meeting — “have collectively repatriated nearly 1,000 children and their family members.”
