Baku repatriates 23 of its nationals linked to ISIS families from Syria
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced the repatriation of 23 of its nationals from Syria, including seven women and 16 children, during operations carried out on June 7, 9 and 11 as part of a government program to repatriate its nationals from crisis areas, without explicitly indicating that they are families of the "Islamic State group".
Meanwhile, private sources confirmed to "Syrian News" that the 23 Azeris returning from Syria are all from families of armed men suspected of belonging to the "Islamic State" organization, and have been inside camps in the east of the country since the organization was defeated in 2019.
The Azerbaijan News Agency said in a statement published on Saturday evening, June 13, that the move came after interim procedures that included identifying the locations and identities of the returnees and verifying their belonging to Azerbaijani citizenship, before the start of the repatriation arrangements.
According to the statement, the embassies of Azerbaijan in Syria and Turkey and their consulate general in Istanbul coordinated the issuance of return certificates and the provision of travel tickets, while Baku sent a joint government team to conduct preliminary medical and psychological examinations of the returnees.
The Azerbaijani government is working to implement comprehensive measures to rehabilitate them socially and reintegrate them into society, while continuing the necessary measures to rescue citizens who have fallen victim to armed conflicts abroad.
The Azerbaijani authorities have not disclosed the areas where these Azeris were present inside Syria, while camps in the northeast of the country still include women and children of different nationalities linked to former fighters of the "Islamic State", especially in the camps of al-Hol and Roj.
Azerbaijan repatriates 600 of its nationals in Syria and Iraq
Over the past years, Azerbaijan has repatriated more than 600 citizens from camps in Syria and Iraq, and provided them with comprehensive care and rehabilitation programs to ensure their reintegration into society, according to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
The ministry confirmed that all returnees underwent programs run by the social services agency in Baku, including social rehabilitation, psychological support and community reintegration, with official data confirming that the overwhelming majority of these are women and children who have been detained for years in al-Hol and al-Roj camps in northeastern Syria.
According to the ministry, the last batch of 23 citizens was transferred directly to a government social welfare institution, where they underwent intensive medical and psychological examinations upon arrival, as part of addressing the effects of the trauma they were exposed to in conflict environments.
The final phase of the program includes the completion of legal and behavioral rehabilitation before allowing returnees to return to their homes and reunite with their families in various Azerbaijani cities, stressing the continuation of efforts to repatriate the remaining nationals who have fallen victim to armed conflicts outside the country.
Baku: Tough strategy for returning men
The Azerbaijani authorities adopt a strict strategy based on a complete separation between women and children, whom they see as victims of conflicts, and men who have participated militarily in the ranks of extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, which have committed widespread and serious abuses.
According to this approach, the Baku authorities arrest any man who returns to the country upon arrival through border crossings or through security handover, and charges related to terrorism, including the establishment of illegal armed groups, participation in foreign conflicts, and carrying out terrorist acts, charges that can carry out up to life imprisonment, with the possibility of revocating citizenship for anyone found to have joined terrorist organizations outside the country.
In return, returning women undergo security and legal interrogations to gather information about the fate of their husbands, to find out if they have been killed or are still being detained, and DNA tests are used to establish children's ancestry and ensure that they have access to official documents that prevent them from being linked to nom de guerre names used by their fathers while in conflict zones.
Baku pays special attention to children, as government integration programs require that they sever any intellectual connection with their parents' ideologies, and they are integrated into public schools under the supervision of social workers to ensure that they grow up in a natural and safe environment away from any extremist influences.