The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that it repatriated 55 french nationals affiliated with ISIS from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) camps.
A delegation led by Stéphane Romatet, head of the crisis management and support center French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met Badran Chiya Kurd, deputy co-presidency of the AANES in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
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The AANES handed over 40 children and 15 women who were in the al-Hawl Camp to the French delegation.
Hawl Camp, 45 km east of the city of Hassakeh, is a house for 55.829 individuals, including 28.725 Iraqis, 18.850 Syrians and 8.254 of foreign nationalities, according to the latest statistics obtained by North Press.
The two parties discussed several files, including paths of Syrian solution, combating terrorism, and supporting the region.
Romatet said the French government is working with the AANES to find possible solutions for the camps housing ISIS families.
Reuters news agency said the foreign ministry said the children were handed to the child care services, while the women will be transferred to the judicial authorities.
The ministry added that France thanked the AANES for cooperating with it, making this operation possible.
“The French citizens were among more than 40.000 foreign nationals, most of them Iraqis, in detention,” Reuters said, citing Human Rights Watch.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.