The United States returned more than 20 citizens of Western countries from a camp for relatives of ISIS terrorists in Syria

United State He announced Tuesday that there is Twenty Western citizens returned to their homelandHalf of them are American A A camp housing tens of thousands of relatives of suspected ISIS fightersIt is the largest repatriation operation to date from the country.

In a complex operation in which they participated American agencies, Kuwait And the fighters Kurds, The United States repatriated eleven American citizensAmong them are five minors, as well as a nine-year-old boy, who is a non-American brother of an American, the Secretary of State announced. Anthony Blinken.

In the same process, The United States facilitated the repatriation of six Canadian citizensfour Dutch And a FinnishHe added that eight of them were minors.

“This is the largest repatriation of American citizens from northeastern Syria to date.”Blinken said in a statement.

“The only permanent solution to A humanitarian and security crisis In IDP camps and detention centers in northeastern Syria, countries must resettle, rehabilitate, reintegrate and, where appropriate, Ensure accountability for crimes committed“he added.

The United States has long put pressure on European governments intend to return their citizens who went to fight in the ranks of ISIS, Or for their children.

Most European countries have done soBut slowly and despite initial reservations, especially in countries with a history of domestic jihadist attacks, e.g France And Britain.

Blinken did not specify the identity of the returning people.

he The New York TimesUnidentified sources said that among them was A An American woman with her Turkish husband He apparently took the family to ISIS territory and was subsequently killed Nine children.

he Star Tribune From Minneapolis I reported last week that A.J The man who joined ISIS but later became a valuable informant was requesting the repatriation of two childrenApparently he is not a US citizen, and will be raised by his grandparents in Minnesota.

Repatriations also remain controversial in the United StatesWith the administration of the former president Donald Trump Insisting in one high-profile case that a young woman seeking return was not a lawful American citizen.

the Syrian Democratic Forces The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces helped US forces defeat the group Islamic country in 2019, ending his self-declared “caliphate” that ruled a large swath of territory stretching between Iraq and Syria.

Five years after the extremists were expelled from their last lands, The Syrian Democratic Forces are still holding more than 56,000 detainees suspected or suspected of having links to ISIS. Most of them are found in Al domains Welcome And To redIt currently receives about 30,000 people from more than 60 countries, most of whom are children.

Kurdish authorities have asked foreign governments to repatriate their citizens, but Western governments have been slow to respond for fear of domestic backlash.

Human rights groups have regularly published reports on what they describe as… Inhumane living conditions And Offense In camps and detention centers where suspected ISIS members are located.

(With information from AFP and Associated Press)