Northeast Syrian Autonomous Administration denies NDR report

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has denied an NDR report which claims that the repatriation of ISIS members to Germany is being blocked by the "Kurdish autonomous administration in northern Syria".

An NDR report by Britta von der Heide, Volkmar Kabisch and Amir Musawy, published on Wednesday, claims that the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is refusing to repatriate ISIS members to Germany. “In January, the Foreign Office handed over a list with the names of 25 German women and children to "representatives of the Kurds" and asked for their transfer. However, the Kurds refused," the article claims.

Speaking to ANF, Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the Foreign Affairs Council of the Autonomous Administration, rejected this claim and said: "The allegation that Germany demanded the handover of ISIS women and children and that the Autonomous Administration rejected this, is not true.”

The problem with the imprisoned ISIS members from over fifty countries and the women and children housed in camps remains unresolved. In the Hol Camp near Hesekê alone there are about 10,500 ISIS women and children who are neither from Syria nor Iraq. The countries of origin do not take responsibility for them.

The Autonomous Administration has repeatedly appealed to the countries of origin to take back their nationals, to implement joint projects for the camps and to establish an international court of justice. The Foreign Affairs Council has guaranteed an official handover of women and children in response to requests from the respective states. However, very few countries are prepared to do so.

In August and November 2019, Germany repatriated six orphans and one sick baby.