UN - Countries to Repatriate Children from Syria

 The UN counter-terrorism chief has asked these countries to repatriate 27,000 children trapped in large camps in northeastern Syria. Many children are the children of Islamic State extremists who control large tracts of land in Iraq and Syria.

Highlights:

♦ The terrible situation of children in Al Hol (camp) is one of the most pressing problems in the world today. 27,000 children were trapped and abandoned by fate.

♦ They are also vulnerable to hunting by law enforcers in Islamic countries. In addition, children are at risk of radicalization in the camp.

♦ The Al Hol or al-Hawl refugee camp is the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country. The refugee camp currently has nearly 62,000 residents.

♦ More than 80% of residents are women and children. After the Syrian civil war, the Islamic State militants fled the refugee camp after losing their last stronghold in Syria in 2019.

♦ The camp is located in the southern outskirts of the town of al-Hawl in northern Syria. It is close to the Syria-Iraq border. The camp accommodates people displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

♦ The camp is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the United States. The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war in Syria. The Baath Party in the Syrian Arab Republic, led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, fought various domestic and foreign forces against the Syrian government and each other. 

♦ The riots in Syria began on March 15, 2011 as part of the broader 2011 Arab Spring protests. This situation has gradually escalated due to dissatisfaction with the Syrian government.

♦ Syria is a country in West Asia. It borders Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.

♦ Syria is the seat of various ethnic groups such as Syrian Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Circassians, Greeks and Manders, while Sunnis, Christians, Druze, Alawites, Salafis, Mendes, Shiites and Yazidis are religious groups.

♦ Among them, Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunnis are the largest religious group. The country is a member of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. Syria withdrew from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

♦ The largest city in Syria is Aleppo, followed by Damascus, Homs, Latakia and Hama. The country was the center of Neolithic culture in 10,000 BC or Neolithic A in the pottery age. It was the first country in the world where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared.