Ten Belgian children of jihadist fighters and six mothers have been repatriated to Belgium from the Roj camp in Syria, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Saturday.
Read also: France has responsibilities vis-à-vis children detained in Syria, warns the UN
"
This Friday night, a plane landed on Belgian soil with 6 Belgian women and 10 children under 12 from Syria on board,
" De Croo's cabinet announced in a press release.
Children were taken into care by youth protection services
“
The 6 women were transferred to prison.
The children were handed over to the Youth Prosecutor's Office, which took the necessary measures in accordance with the law on the protection of minors
”.
These children were to be taken into the care of youth protection services after a medical examination.
The return operation had been announced the day before by unofficial sources and numerous media.
This is the most important organized by Belgium since the fall of the Islamic State organization in 2019.
On March 4, the day after a green light from the anti-terrorism services, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had promised to "do everything" to repatriate children under 12, highlighting the need to take their "
good
into account".
-be
”while the humanitarian and security situation has deteriorated markedly in the camps in northeastern Syria managed by Kurdish forces.
Ocam, the Belgian organization responsible for analyzing the terrorist threat, has ruled that children and mothers who have stayed in these camps require “
permanent monitoring
”, which is “
much easier
” to ensure on Belgian soil.
Belgium, along with France, is one of the European countries that saw the departure of the largest number of foreign fighters after the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011. From 2012, more than 400 Belgians left to fight there in the ranks of jihadist organizations. .
At the start of the year, Belgian researchers estimated in a study that around 40 Belgian minors were still in Syria.
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