Germany and Finland bring home mothers, children from Syrian camps
HELSINKI/BERLIN – Germany and Finland repatriated several of their nationals who were living in refugee camps in north-east Syria, authorities said on Sunday (20).
The Finnish Foreign Ministry said two mothers and six children were brought home as part of the joint operation with German authorities.
Germany said three women and 12 children were repatriated at the weekend.
One of the women was taken into custody upon her arrival at Frankfurt airport on terrorism charges. In March 2015, at the age of 15, the woman is said to have travelled to Syria, joined the Islamic State, and then married a member of the terrorist militia. The two also kept a Yazidi woman as a slave for a time, prosecutors said.
“I am very relieved that yesterday we were able to bring back 12 more children and three associated mothers from camps in north-east Syria,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.
“This good news shortly before Christmas makes us confident that we will be able to make a return possible in other cases too,” he said.
“We will work towards this in the coming weeks and months.”
Jussi Tanner, the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s special envoy, told a news conference that “it has taken far too long time to secure the return of these children.”
Tanner was on the flight with the repatriated nationals.
Finnish police were to investigate if the adults could face any form of charges.
The camps in north-east Syria, including the notorious al-Hol camp, have been controlled by Kurdish forces since the collapse of the Islamic State in February 2019.
“The camps in north-east Syria constitute a long-term security risk. The longer the children remain in the camps, without protection and education, the harder it will be to counter radical extremism,” the Finnish Foreign Ministry.
According to the Foreign Ministry about 15 Finnish children and less than 10 mothers remain in camps in north-east Syria.
A year ago, two young Finnish children who had lived at al-Hol were repatriated and taken into care. Other children and a few mothers have subsequently returned.
-dpa