Syria
People walk about at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members in northeastern Syria, on June 23, 2021. Photo: AFP/ Delil Souleiman
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Canadian woman who left Alberta in 2014 for Syria has been released from al-Hol camp in Syria, her family’s lawyer said on Monday, cited by Canadian media.
Canada’s Global News reported that she is the first Canadian adult to leave the detention camps holding Islamic State (ISIS) members and that she is in northern Iraq awaiting her return to Canada.
Lawrence Greenspon, the family's lawyer, told Global News the woman’s four-year-old daughter was returned to Canada in March with the assistance of US diplomat Peter Galbraith.
It is still not known whether she will face charges when she returns to Canada, according to the Canadian news agency, which also reported there were at least nine women, five men, and dozens of children from Canada held in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Al-Hol camp houses under 60,000 people from dozens of countries, the majority of whom are family members of suspected ISIS fighters, including more than 8,500 foreign nationals.
During a summit in Rome on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the ongoing detention of former ISIS fighters throughout Iraq and Syria was unsustainable and that they should be repatriated and rehabilitated.
"There is a need for countries to take action to repatriate foreign fighters that come from those countries, to prosecute them where appropriate [and] to rehabilitate and reintegrate," Blinken emphasized during a meeting of the global coalition against ISIS to renew international efforts to combat the terrorist group.
Authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) have repeatedly called on the international community to take responsibility for their citizens. Most Western governments are resisting bringing their nationals home, citing security risks.
The SDF General Commander, Mazloum Abdi called on the Coalition to help return the displaced people to their home countries via Twitter on Monday, as well as to fund education and de-radicalization programs to address the root causes of extremism.
Canada’s Global News reported that she is the first Canadian adult to leave the detention camps holding Islamic State (ISIS) members and that she is in northern Iraq awaiting her return to Canada.
Lawrence Greenspon, the family's lawyer, told Global News the woman’s four-year-old daughter was returned to Canada in March with the assistance of US diplomat Peter Galbraith.
It is still not known whether she will face charges when she returns to Canada, according to the Canadian news agency, which also reported there were at least nine women, five men, and dozens of children from Canada held in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Al-Hol camp houses under 60,000 people from dozens of countries, the majority of whom are family members of suspected ISIS fighters, including more than 8,500 foreign nationals.
During a summit in Rome on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the ongoing detention of former ISIS fighters throughout Iraq and Syria was unsustainable and that they should be repatriated and rehabilitated.
"There is a need for countries to take action to repatriate foreign fighters that come from those countries, to prosecute them where appropriate [and] to rehabilitate and reintegrate," Blinken emphasized during a meeting of the global coalition against ISIS to renew international efforts to combat the terrorist group.
Authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) have repeatedly called on the international community to take responsibility for their citizens. Most Western governments are resisting bringing their nationals home, citing security risks.
The SDF General Commander, Mazloum Abdi called on the Coalition to help return the displaced people to their home countries via Twitter on Monday, as well as to fund education and de-radicalization programs to address the root causes of extremism.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment