Minors are still being held in a prison in northeastern Syria attacked in January by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) and then taken over by Kurdish forces, the United Nations said on Sunday, alerting to the precariousness of their condition.
Read alsoSyria: Kurdish forces fight to retake a prison from the Islamic State
Dozens of IS fighters launched an assault on January 20 against Ghwayran prison in Hassaké, an area in the hands of the Kurds, to free their brothers in arms. The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) retook control of the prison six days later at the cost of hundreds of deaths, ending the jihadist group’s largest operation in Syria since its territorial defeat in 2019.
“Unicef met some of the children still being held at Ghwayran detention center“Said in a press release the United Nations agency for children, the first UN agency authorized to visit the prison since the attack. Many of these children, aged between 12 and 18, had been transferred to Ghwayran prison, where their jihadist parents are detained, from nearby displacement camps.
Read alsoIn Syria, a sacrificed generation
“Despite some essential services now guaranteed, the situation of these children is incredibly precariousadded Unicef, without specifying the number of minors still detained. Farhad Shami, spokesman for the SDF, told AFP that “hundredsof minors were still detained in Ghwayran, refusing to divulge an exact number. “They are kept in a safe place“, he added.
Prior to the assault, human rights organizations including Save the Children and Human Rights Watch estimated that more than 700 boys were in the prison. Unicef said it is taking the necessary steps to provide immediate care to minors and confirmed to be “ready to help fund a new safe place in northeast Syria to care for the most vulnerable children“.
In video footage of the visit, posted on social media, about a dozen boys, some draped in blankets, could be seen in a cell. The Kurdish authorities have repeatedly criticized the international community for not supporting efforts to repatriate jihadist children.
Prior to the January assault, Ghwayran prison held at least 3,500 inmates suspected of being affiliated with IS.