| schema:articleBody
| - Britain said on Wednesday it had repatriated a child from Syria, one of dozens of British children thought to be trapped in the war-torn country. The government has faced criticism for refusing to help nationals, including children, to return home after they or their parents were accused of joining Islamic State militants. But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed on Twitter: "Pleased we have been able to bring home a British child from Syria." "Safely facilitating the return of orphans or unaccompanied British children, where possible, is the right thing to do," he said. The foreign ministry declined to provide further details when contacted by AFP, citing legal restrictions on reporting cases involving minors. Charity Save the Children said in a report last year that more than 60 British children were stranded in northeast Syria. Its chief executive Kevin Watkins thanked the government for providing the child with a "safe haven". "Absolutely no child should be growing up in the conditions they are experiencing in camps in NE Syria," he added. Human rights group Reprieve estimates there are 14 adult women and eight men from Britain detained in camps or prison in the region, along with their children. It noted the UK government was refusing to repatriate the women with children, "in stark contrast" to the actions of other governments, including the United States. "It (the government) needs to do the sensible thing and repatriate the remaining British families," the group's interim executive director, Maya Foa, added. "Our justice and security systems are well-equipped to handle the small handful of British adults held in northeast Syria." Britain has taken a strict approach to the issue of UK nationals suspected of travelling to support the IS group and in some cases stripped them of citizenship. Among the most high-profile cases is that of Shamima Begum, who was 15 when she and two other schoolgirls from east London left to join the jihadist group in 2015. She claims to have married a Dutch convert soon after arriving in IS-held territory who subsequently died. Begum, now 20 and marooned in a refugee camp, was discovered nine months pregnant in another camp in February last year, and her newborn baby died soon after she gave birth. Two of her other children also died under IS rule. Britain annulled her UK citizenship on national security grounds after an outcry led by right-wing media but Begum has mounted a legal challenge of the decision. The UK Supreme Court is set to decide on whether she can return to Britain to fight the case. Save the Children has said the threat to children stranded in Syrian camps was high, and that eight youngsters aged under five died in just five days. There are also fears of a deadly outbreak of the coronavirus. "The UK government can and must bring the remaining British children home to recover in safety," the charity's response director Sonia Khush said,. "This has never been more urgent and today's good news shows it can be done." jj/phz/pma
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)