The United Nations agency for children (Unicef) called on Sunday that all Syrian and foreign children detained in IDP camps or prisons in northeastern Syria be allowed to return home.
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The UNICEF appeal came the day after a fire caused by a stove in which four Syrians, three children and a woman, perished in the Al-Hol camp in the northeast of the country in war, according to a local official.
Held by Kurdish forces, the largest camp in Syria - which has become a veritable tent city - accommodates nearly 62,000 people, the vast majority of which are women and children according to the UN.
It is mainly home to Syrians and Iraqis, but also thousands of foreign women, particularly from Europe or Asia, and their children, who are relatives of jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group.
"
In northeastern Syria, there are more than 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities languishing in camps and prisons, in addition to several thousand Syrian children
," lamented the regional director of Unicef, Ted Chaiban, without providing precise figures on children detained in prison.
Fourteen murders, including three beheadings
“
Local authorities in northeastern Syria and UN member states should do everything possible to bring the children home now
” in that region, he said in a statement.
They should do so “
by integrating Syrian children into their local communities and repatriating foreign children
”.
Several NGOs sounded the alarm on the living conditions and the lack of medical care in the Al-Hol camp.
In early February, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) reiterated its concern, recalling that the camp accommodates more than 31,000 children under the age of 12.
Even with international aid "
the humanitarian conditions in Al-Hol remain undeniably difficult,
" Ocha said, pointing to an increase in violence which means that the camp "
is not a place where a child must grow up
".
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Al-Hol has seen several incidents in recent months, sometimes involving IS supporters, including escape attempts and attacks on guards or NGO workers.
At least 14 murders, including three beheadings, have been recorded among the displaced since early January.