The US repatriated 11 Americans, six Canadians, four Dutch citizens and one Finnish citizen from northeastern Syria on Tuesday, according to a report. declaration by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“In conducting this complex repatriation and resettlement, the Department coordinated closely with our interagency partners,” Blinken said in Tuesday’s statement. “I would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Health and Human Services for their assistance.”
Blinken also called Tuesday’s repatriation “the largest single repatriation of U.S. citizens from northeastern Syria to date” in the statement.
“The United States remains committed to assisting nations seeking to repatriate their nationals from northeastern Syria and to finding solutions, including resettlement, for those who are unable to return to their home communities or countries,” Blinken said.
In February, a senior military commander of US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria warned that the growing conflict in the Middle East, as well as attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, are allowing space for the return of the Islamic State.
“With all these tensions and all these attacks on our forces and in our areas from different and multiple sides, we are seeing that ISIS is taking advantage of all these attacks. We have also seen an increase in ISIS movements,” said Mazloum Abdi, commander-general of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in a Zoom briefing to journalists.
Tensions in the Middle East have increased amid the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, through actions such as the attack by Iranian-backed proxies on US forces in the region.
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