SULAILAMNI (ESTA) — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria handed over 20 orphaned children born to parents linked to Islamic State (ISIS) to a Russian delegation for repatriation.
In a statement on Saturday, Kurdish authorities said the children aged three to 16 years old were held in Roj camp in northeastern Syria.
“Twenty Russian children who were in the Roj camp were handed over,” they said. “All are orphans in good health.”
The latest repatriations brought to 205 people those sent home to Russia so far, according to AFP.
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria hold thousands of foreigners with alleged ties to the militant group in their custody, after spearheading a U.S.-backed battle against ISIS that seized the last patch of their territory in early 2019.
Alleged foreign fighters are held in jails, while women and children with ties to the group live in camps for the displaced in northeast Syria.
Syrian Kurds have repeatedly urged the international community to repatriate foreign nationals held in crowded camps.
