Dozens of British children stranded in Syrian camps after growing up under rule of Islamic State

ARK News: More than 30 British children who grew up in the Islamic State are languishing in camps in Syria, including three young girls taken by their mother four years ago, a Telegraph investigation can disclose.

The grandmother of the young girls has pleaded with the British Government to bring back the family after this newspaper informed her that her daughter and grandchildren are still alive.

Charleen Jack-Henry, 51, an NHS nurse, from west London, told of her "relief" that her three grandchildren, who were born in the UK, had survived the horrors of Isil - although the fate of a fourth grandchild is not known.

Mrs. Jack-Henry, who had not received any message from her daughter since she vanished in 2015 with her jihadist husband, said: “My grandchildren are British. They were born here and should be back in this country.

"They weren’t born in Syria. Somebody in authority needs to go and fetch them back. They should be living here. They are the innocent ones in all this. We all miss them so much."

An analysis of the camp lists coupled with information on other minors already held in the public domain suggests at least 30 children born to British parents are now stuck in sprawling refugee camps in Syria.

That is twice the number previously thought. The disclosure will put pressure on the Government to make greater efforts to rescue innocent British children who have been caught up in the conflict.

Several Britons have been made effectively stateless in the process. Mrs. Jack-Henry said she was unaware of her daughter’s citizenship status but said the young children should not be punished for their mother’s mistakes.

"I’m sure my daughter was coerced into going. She would not have left otherwise"
“Of course I would care for them. They are my family and we all love them so much. They have to be with us here,” she said.

She claimed her daughter, who was born into a Christian family from Trinidad and Tobago, converted after meeting her husband when they both worked in Pizza Hut in Hammersmith in west London, in 2005.

Intelligence sources have confirmed that Ali went to Iraq and Syria with his family although the fate of the children’s father is not known.

It is estimated more than 215 children who have died either in the camps or on their way to them, of malnutrition or cold since the start of January.

Critics say the delay in reaching children has put their lives at greater risk while they remain exposed to radical ideology inside the camps.

The number of British children trapped in Syria has now topped 30, according to the registration documents.

At least 12 of those are understood to have been born in the UK, while the rest are entitled to British citizenship as their mothers are nationals.

Half of those were rescued from Isil’s final holdout of Baghouz in eastern Syria in the last month after their parents refused to surrender to UK-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The other half has been held in detention camps in northern Syria for as long as two years.

There are now understood to be at least 10 British men and 18 women in SDF custody.

SDF officials have warned they will not hold foreigners in their custody indefinitely as they do not have the capacity or the resources.

Some European countries, including France and Belgium, have responded to the mounting pressure and recently decided to repatriate the children.


“In the end, there is only one alternative, which is to take our citizens back, prosecute those who should be prosecuted, and help those who need help.

"The longer we delay this, the more children will die, and the more blood will be on the heads of our politicians.”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

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