The fate of British citizens held in camps and prisons in northeast Syria is uncertain as control of the facilities shifts from Kurdish-led forces to the Syrian Army, an expert from the University of Reading has said.
Professor Harmonie Toros, from the Department of Politics and International Relations, said the situation affects families of ISIS-affiliated individuals, including children.
“The fate of thousands of displaced people, some of them British children, remains uncertain,” she said. “There are reports that families, including children, are being encouraged to leave the camps, but it is unclear where they can go and under what conditions.”
Professor Toros described the issue as both a legal and security challenge for the UK government and other European nations. She said successive governments had largely avoided addressing the repatriation of British families from northeast Syria over the past seven years.
While much public attention has focused on Shamima Begum and her legal battle over citizenship, Professor Toros said the issue involves at least 60 British or former British citizens, many of them children.
She added: “It is also a security concern: Some of those held in the prisons are believed to have taken part in ISIS crimes, and it is unclear where they are and under what conditions they are being held.”
The camps and prisons are currently transitioning from the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces to the Syrian Army under President Ahmed al Sharra.
