US repatriates 11 US citizens from northeast Syria

The United States has repatriated 11 US citizens, including five minors, as well as the sibling of one of those minors, from northeast Syria in what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the “largest single repatriation” of Americans from that region to date.

The United States has repatriated 11 US citizens, including five minors, as well as the sibling of one of those minors, from northeast Syria in what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the “largest single repatriation” of Americans from that region. All are part of one family and none are former ISIS fighters, a State Department official told CNN. In a statement Tuesday, Blinken described it as a “complex repatriation and resettlement” that was “coordinated closely with our interagency partners.” There are hundreds of tens of thousands (guessing this should just be tens of thousands) of people, “the majority of whom are children,” from more than 60 countries who remain in two sprawling encampments – Al-Hol and Roj – in northeast Syria, according to Blinken. The US has worked to repatriate Americans from the former ISIS territory, and has encouraged other nations to repatriate their own citizens as well. “The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in the displaced persons camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria is for countries to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for wrongdoing,” Blinken said.