In the last two days, Denmark and Germany have brought home a total of 11 IS women and 37 children. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says they “participate in the debate”, but will not say anything about how they relate to Norwegian IS women’s desire for assistance.
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Last week in September, Abdulkarim Omar, foreign policy spokesman for the Kurdish autonomous authorities in northern Syria, went out and made a demand to Norway: Bring home four Norwegian IS women, with four children.
The women risk deportation from Syria, but the Kurdish authorities admit that they can practically not send anyone to Norway by force: an agreement on repatriation is needed.
In September, Sweden brought IS women and their children home. Now Denmark and Germany have done the same. VG has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a comment on the fact that several countries in Northern Europe are now repatriating their citizens.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is following the situation for Norwegian foreign fighters and their children, and is concerned about the children who are in camps in Syria. These children live in difficult conditions and are put in a serious situation by their parents. We are aware that other countries are also following the situation closely, says State Secretary Jens Frølich Holte to VG.
VG I SYRIA: The nameless children’s graves
–Ask for assistance
He confirms that two of the remaining Norwegian women who are in camps in Syria have asked the Norwegian authorities for consular assistance.
– Out of consideration for the duty of confidentiality, we can not comment on further details. Should it become relevant for the Foreign Service to assist any of the Norwegian citizens who are in Syria in traveling to Norway, we will, for the sake of the safety of those involved, not comment on this publicly, says the Secretary of State, and adds the following:
– All Norwegian citizens have the right to enter Norway. Norway does not have an obligation under international law to actively repatriate foreign fighters or their children. Norway participates constructively in the debate on repatriation to the UN. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any inquiries about the deportation of Norwegian citizens.
In January last year, Norway brought home a Norwegian IS woman (29) and her two children, due to one child’s health condition. The woman stayed in May sentenced to three and a half years in prison for participation, and has appealed the verdict.
Read the report: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked for months on secret repatriation
In June 2019, Norway took out five orphaned Norwegian children from Syria, after the children’s ethnic Norwegian IS mother had been missing, presumed dead.
Joined IS
On Thursday, it was confirmed that three Danish women and 14 children have landed in Denmark after leaving a Kurdish-controlled prison camp in Syria. The women are accused of having joined IS.
The 17 were on Danish soil on Thursday, lawyers for the women confirm to Danish TV2 and DR. The women and children left the al-Roj camp in northern Syria early Wednesday morning.
They were on a plane that landed in Frankfurt, Germany just after midnight. Eight women and 23 children left, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs states. The three Danish women and their 14 children landed at Karup airport in Central Jutland later on Thursday night, writes Extra Bladet.
The three women traveled to Syria in 2014 where they joined the extremist group IS. One of the women has dual citizenship, while the other two are ethnic Danes. Nine of the 14 children were born in Denmark and traveled with their mothers to Syria. The five youngest children were born in Syria, reports DR.
Work is now underway to bring home another five children with Danish connections from prison camps in Syria, reports the news agency Ritzau. However, this requires the consent of the children’s three mothers, who have been deprived of their citizenship and whom the Danish government does not want to take home. The five children and their mothers are therefore still in prison camps.
One month ago, three Swedish women and their eight children traveled from Syria to Sweden. Two of the three women were arrested shortly after by the police. Today, one of them is in custody while the other has been released.
–– The children are not responsible
Germany has brought home eight women who joined the terrorist group IS, as well as 23 children, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs states.
They come from the al-Roj camp in northern Syria. It is the largest repatriation since 2019.
– The children are not responsible for the situation they are in. The mothers will have to be responsible for their actions, says Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in a statement.
Furthermore, Maas says that many of them were taken into custody as soon as they arrived in Germany.
According to Der Spiegel, the women are between 30 and 38 years old, and they come from regions throughout Germany.
On board the plane were also three women and 14 children who are being brought home from Denmark as part of the same operation, according to Germany.
There have been discussions about how to treat citizens who left to join IS after the group was defeated in Syria in 2019. Most European countries treat repatriation on a case-by-case basis.
Germany, together with Finland, brought home five women and 18 children in December last year.
One month ago, three Swedish women and their eight children traveled from Syria to Sweden. Two of the three women were arrested shortly after.
In total, there is talk of bringing home a total of twelve Swedish women and 22 children from the camps.
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