NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan said Friday it had evacuated 231 of its citizens, most of them children, from Syria after they travelled or were taken there to join the Islamic State group.
Thousands from Muslim-majority Kazakhstan, other Central Asian nations and Russia’s Caucasus have travelled to Syria to fight with jihadists since war broke out there in 2011. The operation to repatriate 156 children and 75 adults took place between May 7 and May 9, Kazakhstan’s presidency said in a statement, without providing details.
The evacuation follows a similar operation in January that saw 43 Kazakhs returned to the country, some of whom were subsequently arrested for extremism-related crimes.
But in the statement on Friday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev characterised the earlier operation as a success. “Women abandoned their radical past, got a job, restored ties with relatives.
A woman passes by a #COP29 sign during the United Nations climate change conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan on...
An undated image shows Defence Minister Nikos Dendias at a news conference, in Moscow, Russia. — Reuters/FileATHENS:...
A vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine is pictured at the International Community Health Services...
Republican US Representative Matt Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former US...
People walk over London Bridge looking at a view of Tower Bridge in the City of London financial district in London,...
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi...
