US brings home 11 Americans held in Syrian refugee camp for ISIS families

The Biden administration says that it had repatriated a large family unit of Americans who had been living in the squalid refugee camps for families of ISIS fighters in northern Syria.

Eleven people in total, none of whom were former Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, were brought to the US as part of the effort, Secretary of State Antony Blinkensaid in a statement on Tuesday.

It’s the largest single group to be repatriated to America from the refugee camps, where residents including many family members of ISIS militants live in horrid conditions as their futures remain in legal limbo. Many governments have resisted calls from the US to bring home citizens of their respective nations who have turned up in the camps after travelling to the Middle East.

“Approximately 30,000 individuals from more than 60 countries outside Syria remain in the al-Hol and Roj displaced persons camps, the majority of whom are children. As governments undertake repatriation of their nationals, we urge thoughtfulness and flexibility to ensure that to the maximum extent possible family units remain intact,” said Mr Blinken.

“The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in the displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria is for countries to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for wrongdoing,” he continued.

“The United States remains committed to helping those nations which seek to repatriate their nationals from northeast Syria, and to finding solutions, including resettlement, for those who are unable to return to their communities or countries of origin.”

The group includes one nine-year-old child, described as the brother of a US-born citizen, who does not