The working group on repatriation of Russian children smuggled to Iraq and Syria by parents who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) discussed the progress of evacuation measures on Friday under chairmanship of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Anna Kuznetsova, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2019) The working group on repatriation of Russian children smuggled to Iraq and Syria by parents who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) discussed the progress of evacuation measures on Friday under chairmanship of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Anna Kuznetsova, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.In 2017, Moscow embarked on a mission to evacuate the Russian children smuggled to Iraq and Syria by their parents after a story filmed by the RT broadcaster about a Baghdad orphanage housing Russian minors. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, 90 children have already been brought to Russia.
"All these children were illegally in Iraq with their mothers either in jail or under trial for various terrorist offenses. Separate attention was paid to repatriation of children from Syria under similar circumstances. Primarily to those of them in areas not controlled by Damascus," the statement said, emphasizing the assistance of the Iraqi government in repatriation of Russian minors.
On Thursday, 33 Russian children aged between 1-4 years were returned home from Iraq on board a special flight of the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
According to a member of the working group and Chechen human rights council, Kheda Saratova, more than 2,000 children and 1,000 women are still in Syria, mainly in refugee camps which are known to have extremely poor living conditions. Many die from hunger and diseases, as well as under shelling. Earlier, Kuznetsova said that the evacuation mission will be complete in August.
