AANES hands over two ISIS women and 13 children to Spain

The Foreign Relations Office of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has handed over 13 children and two ISIS women from Spain to a delegation from their country of origin.

The Foreign Relations Office of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced that 13 children and two Spanish women belonging to ISIS were handed over to a delegation of the Spanish Foreign Ministry. The delegation, led by Guillermo Anguera, was received by Fener al-Giêtm, the deputy co-chair of the Office of Foreign Relations, AANES representative Xalid Ibrahim, Lana Hisên of the PYD and Heweyda Mihemed Selim Mihemed, representative of the women's organisation.

During the meeting, the political process in Syria and the need for a solution to the current crisis as well as the humanitarian, economic and security situation in the self-governing regions were discussed. According to the statement, al-Giêt recalled the autonomous administration’s call for a dialogue respecting territorial integrity and a political solution, remarking that the real threat to Syria's integrity is the Turkish occupation, while the autonomous administration defends Syria's sovereignty.

Referring to the talks between the Assad regime, the Turkish state and Russia, al-Giêt said: "The rapprochement between Syria and Turkey contradicts the interests of Syria and its people in the face of Turkey's warmongering and occupation of Syrian territory." He added that the closure of the Til Koçer (Al-Yarubiyah) border crossing has negatively affected the humanitarian and economic situation in the region and that this decision is unfair to the people of Syria. The Til Koçer border crossing, which is controlled by the Iraqi army, was closed in 2018 at Russia's insistence by a decision by the UN Security Council.

Guillermo Anguera thanked the AANES and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for guaranteeing security in the region and the fight against ISIS, and stated that Spain supports the autonomous administration in humanitarian, security and economic areas.

After the diplomatic exchange, it was recorded in the minutes that AANES handed over 13 children and two ISIS women to Spain.

The captured or interned members of ISIS from all over the world represent a major security risk for the autonomous administration. There are approximately 12,000 ISIS members detained in prisons in north-eastern Syria. Hol Camp houses 7,800 ISIS women and children from 54 other countries in addition to Syrian and Iraqi nationals. The autonomous administration hardly has the situation in Hol Camp under control and repeatedly asks the countries of origin to take over their nationals. So far, however, most of the states are shirking their responsibility.