Syria
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entering the al-Sina’a prison (right) on January 22, 2022, filmed by Ronhai TV. Photo: Screenshot/Ronhai TV; UNICEF logo (left). Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday urged for the release of ISIS-linked children detained in the al-Sina'a prison in Hasaka, northeast Syria (Rojava), following a large-scale insurrection and subsequent escape attempt by the Islamic State (ISIS) group that compromised their safety.
In a statement, UNICEF called for the acceleration of efforts to rescue children affiliated with ISIS in the al-Sina'a prison in Hasaka, who number in the hundreds and are exposed to brutal conditions in the squalid detention facility.
"Yesterday, UNICEF met with some of the children still detained in the Ghwayran detention centre, in al-Hasakah, northeast Syria. For at least ten days, children who have lived in dire conditions in the Ghwayran detention centre, many of them for years, witnessed and survived heightened violence in and around the prison further to the attack mid-January," said Bo Viktor Nylund, UNICEF's Syria Representative.
Nylund added that despite the betterment of basic services in the facility, the children's situation is "incredibly precarious" and that they "should have never been there in the first place."
"UNICEF confirms it is ready to help support a new safe place in the northeast of Syria to take care of the most vulnerable children – some as young as 12 years old," he continued, stressing that children should never be detained due to links with armed groups and that they should always be treated as "victims of conflict."
The agency also expressed support to the local authorities, thanking them for their efforts in containing the situation in and around the prison as fighting raged on between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS militants.
Around two weeks ago, the SDF foiled a major attack by ISIS on a detention facility in Hasaka, known to locals as Ghweran prison. The terrorist organization attempted to break thousands of its affiliates and members out of the prison, leading to a week-long standoff with the SDF.
On Monday, the SDF raised the death toll from the brazen prison break attempt to 495 people, including 121 SDF fighters, prison guards, and civilians, as well as 374 ISIS members.
UNICEF further urged the international community to repatriate their children, saying that "UNICEF stands ready to facilitate the speedy and systematic repatriation of foreign children and the reintegration of children in Syria to their communities of origin."
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the prison facility in Hasaka houses 700 boys, mostly from Syria and Iraq, but also from dozens of other countries.
Two weeks ago, UNICEF's Regional Chief of Advocacy and Communications, Juliette Touma, told Rudaw English that she couldn't begin to imagine the atrocities that the children within al-Sina'a must be witnessing; most imprisoned for nearly three years.
A United Nations (UN) report, published in May, found that the conditions facing children held in northeast Syria amounted to torture, and breached international law.
The SDF on January 27 called on the international community to accelerate the repatriation efforts of their ISIS-affiliated nationals.
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