There are more than 42,000 foreign nationals — most of them children — in detention camps for those linked to the Islamic State in Syria, according to Human Rights Watch.
Canada has decided to take back four women and ten children who spent at least three years in so-called Islamic State detention camps in northeastern Syria.
The federal government agreed in January to repatriate the group of women and children, but delayed the return of the four jailed men.
Canada said it had taken steps to bring the team back because of worsening conditions in the camps. He shared little details about the deportation process.
On Wednesday, Laurence Grinspoon, a lawyer for the deported families, said the women and children were on their way to Canada.
“I’ve spoken to many of their families in Canada who are very happy now that their loved ones have started the process to bring them back after three and a half years,” Grinspoon said.
No details were available on when or where the group would return to Canada.
It’s not clear if the deportation group includes a Quebec woman and her six children, but her information indicates the woman is not among those deported to Canada, lawyer Grinspoon told the BBC.
Canadian authorities have offered to take the children without their mother, Grinspoon says, while their deportation officials are still assessing the security risks.
The lawyer said International Affairs Canada told the mother last week that she had to choose between sending her children home unaccompanied and keeping them with her at the camp.
International Affairs Canada said in a statement Thursday that “deportation efforts will continue as long as conditions permit.”
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by reporters whether officials violated government policy by asking mothers to send their children to Canada without them. Trudeau responded that Canada has “met all of its obligations.”
“The situation in northeast Syria is incredibly volatile, and Canada is monitoring the situation closely,” Trudeau said.
The Canadian prime minister declined to comment further.
It would be the largest deportation by Canada since the demise of the so-called Islamic State group in 2019.
Only a small number of women and children from these camps have been deported to Canada in the past four years.
There are more than 42,000 foreigners in detention camps for those linked to the Islamic State in Syria. These people, most of them children, live in dangerous conditions, according to the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch.
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