The Biden administration has successfully repatriated a family of 10 American citizens who were stranded for years in desert camps and detention centers in Syria, according to officials. This includes a woman named Brandy Salman and her nine American-born children, as well as a pair of half brothers, one of whom is a 7-year-old American citizen.
In a statement from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, it was revealed that the complex repatriation and resettlement involved 11 American citizens, five of whom were minors, and the 9-year-old non-U.S.-citizen sibling of one of the U.S. citizen minors. This marks the largest single repatriation of U.S. citizens from northeast Syria to date.
The government also brought back six Canadian citizens, four Dutch citizens, and one Finnish citizen as part of the same transfer operation. Since 2016, the United States has repatriated a total of 51 American citizens from the region, including 30 children and 21 adults.
The repatriation efforts come as tens of thousands of people remain effectively imprisoned in northeastern Syria by the Kurdish-led militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces. Most of these individuals are women and children, with some suspected of having ties to the Islamic State.
The United States has been urging other countries to take back their nationals and provide rehabilitation and reintegration support where needed. The recent transfer operation is a step towards addressing the humanitarian and security crisis in the region.
As the Biden administration continues to navigate the challenges of repatriating individuals from conflict zones, the focus remains on preserving family units and ensuring accountability for wrongdoing. The ultimate goal is to provide a durable solution to the crisis in the displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria.
