19 Canadians Detained in Syria for Four Years May be Coming Back Home: Sources

Nineteen Canadians that had been detained in Syria for the past four years will now be returning home, according to new reports. These include six women and their 13 children who were taken out of Al-Roj camp Tuesday evening by Canadian officials.

In northeastern Syria, 19 Canadians including six women and their 13 children were being kept in an open-air prison in the Al-Roj camp. According to sources, they will now be returning home to Canada after four years. The United Nations asked all the countries to repatriate their nAchilleas Zavallis for The Guardianationals from these camps over two years ago and RCMP has been present at the camp conducting security assessments for the past week.

However, it is unclear if a 38-year-old Quebec woman and her six children will be allowed to leaving the camp along with other Canadians. She lives in another part of the camp away from most of the other Canadians. According to reports, last week, Global Affairs informed her that her children were eligible for repatriation, but she could not accompany them because her security assessment was incomplete.

She initially agreed to let her kids be taken back without her, but she later changed her mind, according to her lawyer. He said, “Ms.J wants her six children to be repatriated and that she wants to come home to Québec with them.” He added, “I have asked GAC to take the necessary urgent steps so that Mom can come home with her children.”

Al-Roj is one of the several camps throughout Syria where over 40,000 suspected ISIS militants and supporters are detained under Kurdish forces. It is also reported that the majority of these detainees are children.

Furthermore, four foreign mothers and their 10 Canadian children still remain at the camp. The federal government did not repatriate the non-Canadian women but only their children.

Vineet Washington