British child caught up in Islamic State conflict repatriated from Syria

A British child, who was caught up in the Islamic State conflict, has been rescued from Syria and is to be returned home, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary has revealed.

The child, who was born in Syria, was being cared for by charity workers at a refugee camp in the Kurdish controlled area of the war torn country .

A repatriation team, led by Martin Longden, the UK's Syria envoy, made a mercy dash to the camp earlier this week and was able to extract the child and remove it to safety.

The child, who will be returned to the UK as soon as arrangements can be made, is believed to be the fourth British youngster to be repatriated from Syria since the collapse of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The identity of the youngster and its parents cannot be reported for legal reasons, but the move by the Foreign Office could be a sign of the UK's increasing willingness to address the problem of British orphans and unaccompanied minors stranded in Syria.

Announcing the operation on social media, Mr Raab said: "Pleased we have been able to bring home a British child from Syria. As I have said previously, we assess each case carefully.

"Safely facilitating the return of orphans or unaccompanied British children, where possible, is the right thing to do."

British charity, Save the Children, which appeared to have witnessed the rescue effort, claimed the child had asked if other youngsters at their care centre could return to the UK.

It is understood that around 60 children and a dozen women are detained in the camps, including Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a teenager to join Isil.

Many of the children are now orphans after their parents were killed or abandoned them and Mr Raab indicated that these cases would be looked at as a priority.

Earlier this year three orphaned siblings were returned to family members in the UK after their parents were killed fighting for Isil.

But dozens more remain in limbo with matters made more complicated by the Government's pledge to strip Isil volunteers of their British citizenship.

The two main camps hosting Isil brides and their families are Al-Hol and Roj, both situated in the Kurdish-controlled, northeastern region of Syria.

Both camps are run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, who guard around 70,000 women and children in Al-Hol and 2,000 in the smaller Roj camp.

Sickness is rampant in the cramped and overcrowded camps, where there is limited access to clean water and food.

Al-Hol has already confirmed an outbreak of coronavirus among some detainees.

Save the Children’s Syria Response Director Sonia Khush said: "Children in Syria who have fled ISIS-held areas are innocent, including those with their mothers.

"They are swept up in horrific events far beyond their control and their short lives have been full of violence and fear.

"The threat to children in these camps is huge. Recently eight children under the age of five died in just five days and coronavirus has reached the camps, raising fears of a devastating outbreak."