QAMISHLI, Syria — Kid detainees at a jail in northeast Syria that used to be attacked via ISIS two weeks in the past are injured, hungry and thirsty, in keeping with the primary world assist employee to peer them because the siege.
“They simply controlled to mention a couple of phrases: that they’re hungry, they want water, they want hospital treatment,” mentioned the legitimate, Bo Viktor Nylund, UNICEF Syria’s consultant, who visited the Sinaa jail on Saturday. Jail government allowed him to view the youngsters via small, barred home windows within the metal mobile doorways however to not discuss with them.
The makeshift jail, within the town of Hasaka, that used to be attacked on Jan. 20 via ISIS suicide bombers and gunmen held about 4,000 suspected ISIS opponents and about 700 youngsters. Fears over the kids’ protection grew after the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is in command of this breakaway area of Syria, mentioned that ISIS gunmen had used a few of them as human shields right through the assault.
Masses of inmates have been killed over 10 days because the Syrian Democratic Forces and American floor forces fought to retake keep an eye on of the jail from the terrorist team.
The S.D.F. mentioned it misplaced 40 opponents and 77 guards and different jail staff. Nevertheless it has no longer published main points of the kids’ fates and has barred get right of entry to to newshounds — and, till Saturday, to help organizations, like UNICEF and the Global Committee of the Purple Go, which is generally the primary to seek advice from detainees.
{A photograph} equipped via UNICEF to The New York Occasions confirmed the kids, their identities shielded, sitting barefoot on a damaged concrete and mud flooring with skinny mattresses coated finish to finish. Daylight via prime home windows illuminated what seemed like blackened partitions. One of the crucial boys had blankets wrapped round their shoulders.
“We noticed masses of boys,” Mr. Nylund informed The Occasions on Sunday. “Fairly thin and short of a large number of products and services, together with clinical make stronger.”
He mentioned that S.D.F. officers informed him on Saturday that there have been 700 detained minors — the similar quantity they gave prior to the jail siege — and that he used to be proven “six or seven” cells, every with about 30 youngsters. Mr. Nylund estimated that the youngest prisoner he noticed used to be about 15.
He mentioned that the odor of smoke nonetheless hung within the air and that the jail’s partitions have been scorched, however that “they controlled to get the fundamentals in position,” he mentioned, relating to the blankets and mattresses.
“Nevertheless it’s been a warfare zone,” Mr. Nylund added.
The teens were held within the makeshift jail since they have been separated from ladies and more youthful youngsters after ISIS fell in 2019, and none were prior to a pass judgement on since being detained.
The S.D.F. has mentioned that the lads’ ties to the Islamic State cause them to bad, and that one of the crucial older ones were educated to struggle, whilst human rights organizations believe them sufferers, youngsters taken to the Islamic State via no collection of their very own.
Prior to now 3 years, few assist organizations were given even a glimpse of the kids, because the S.D.F. has limited get right of entry to to them.
“We’ve got been operating on getting get right of entry to for the final 12 months plus,” Mr. Nylund mentioned of the Sinaa jail. “We’ve got no longer spoken intimately to a unmarried one in every of them.”
Ultimate week, The Occasions noticed two our bodies that gave the look to be the ones of youngsters amongst different our bodies discovered in the community across the jail the place citizens reported seeing ISIS attackers right through the siege. Jail clothes used to be additionally a few of the stays. About 200 ISIS opponents had attacked the jail to take a look at to wreck out detained comrades, and it used to be no longer transparent whether or not the lads had escaped with grownup prisoners or been taken hostage via them.
Mazlum Kobani, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, informed The Occasions {that a} “very small quantity” of the kids were killed within the operation to retake the jail and to arrest ISIS opponents.
Human Rights Watch mentioned that two detainees had informed it that they noticed youngsters killed right through the combating for the jail, and that every other detainee described how a kid bled to dying in his palms.
An S.D.F. legitimate informed The Occasions final week that the lads were moved from the Sinaa jail to protection in a more moderen facility, however Mr. Nylund, the UNICEF legitimate, mentioned he noticed them in the similar position the place they have been held prior to the assault.
“We haven’t any data,” an S.D.F. spokesman, Ferhad Shami, mentioned on Sunday when requested in regards to the discrepancy.
Mr. Nylund mentioned UNICEF was hoping to first supply assist to the youngest prisoners and to people who have been in poor health or wounded. After that, he mentioned, the U.N. group will attempt to identify case information for the youngsters, with the purpose of repatriating foreigners to 3rd nations. Maximum nations have refused to repatriate prisoners or households in detention camps from this area of Syria.
“We can do it at the situation that we have got steady get right of entry to as a result of except we do, we’re getting used,” Mr. Nylund mentioned in an surprisingly blunt remark in regards to the loss of get right of entry to presented via officers keen to turn they’re operating with world organizations, however much less keen to allow them to in.
“Let’s see that there’s a real willingness to take this to the following degree as a result of, up to now, we’ve got no longer noticed that this has in fact came about,” he mentioned.
UNICEF mentioned in a remark pronouncing the seek advice from that the youngsters will have to be transferred to the care of kid coverage businesses and that foreigners will have to be repatriated to their house nations.
“Youngsters related to and recruited via armed teams will have to at all times be handled as sufferers of warfare,” it mentioned.
