Russia repatriates 9 orphans from Syria’s northeast

On Wednesday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) handed over 9 Russian orphaned children from ISIS families to an official Russian delegation headed by Sergey Igorevich, Assistant Head of the Children’s Rights Commission of the Russian Federation.

The Russian delegate was received by Abir Ilia, deputy co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the AANES.

“The children are victims of parents who chose to join ISIS. They are orphans and are aged from 5 to 16 years old,” Abir said in a press conference.

Russia has repatriated ISIS children from camps in the AANES areas since 2018 after signing an official repatriation document between both sides.

“The solution to the ISIS issue in northeast Syria does not depend solely on the issue of repatriating ISIS children,” she added

Ilia warned against keeping the issue suspended without radical solutions, calling on both Russia and the international community to play an active role in this issue.

In turn, the Russian official expressed his gratitude to the Autonomous Administration and its cooperation in repatriating the Russian children.

He also reiterated its commitment to repatriate all of the children present in camps in areas of NE Syria.