Rescue of Canadian child from al-Hol with mother left behind 'bittersweet': HRW

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The rescue of a four-year-old girl from the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria without her ISIS-linked mother is 'bittersweet', a senior member of Human Rights Watch (HRW) staff said on Monday.

The little girl's repatriation, which took place on Sunday, "came at a wrenching price," Letta Tayler, Associate Director of the Crisis and Conflict Division at HRW said.

"Canada agreed to let the girl come home but not her Canadian mother, who had travelled to Syria and married an ISIS (Islamic State) member. Mother and daughter have no idea when they will be reunited."

The United Nations, human rights organisations, and relatives of people stuck in the camps have called for all detainees to be brought home, and adults suspected of crimes committed as part of ISIS to be tried in their home countries. 

"Canada and other countries should take urgent action to repatriate all their citizens from northeast Syria. Once home they can be offered rehabilitation and reintegration. Adults can be prosecuted if warranted," Tayler said.

"The mother of the repatriated Canadian girl says she has not committed any crimes in Syria but is ready to be judged if the process is fair."

"I am willing to make amends for my actions and stand trial,” she told me. “I just need to be home to do that,” Tayler quoted the girl's mother as saying.

Rojava officials have also made several calls for countries to repatirate their citizens because of security and humanitarian difficulties.

Al-Hol camp, which has a population of 61,000, has seen a spate of murders since the beginning of 2021. Two Iraqi refugees were found shot dead in the camp on Monday, local officials said.

Children living at the camp told charity Save the Children last month that the killings at the camp have made them fearful.

Amira, a five-year-old orphan born to Canadian parents, was rescued from the camp in October 2020. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called her repatriation an "exception".