The government has begun the process of bringing British orphans whose parents died in Syria back to the UK.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has confirmed that a group of three British orphans will be returning to the UK from territory which was formerly under the control of Islamic state (Isis).

Dr Abdulkarim Omar, the co-chair of the foreign relations commission in north Syria tweeted yesterday that the children had been ‘handed over to a delegation representing the British foreign ministry’.

He posted a photo of himself with Martin Longden, the UK’s special representative for Syria, and added that the ‘three British orphans were from ISIS parents’.

The government had previously said it would not be allowing British citizens trapped in Isis territory to return.

However, Dominic Raab last month told MPs that as long as there was ‘no security threat’, children rescued from the fighting in northern Syria could be allowed to return home.

Mr Raab said last night: ‘These innocent, orphaned, children should never have been subjected to the horrors of war.

‘We have facilitated their return home because it was the right thing to do. Now they must be allowed the privacy and given the support to return to a normal life.’

Save the Children has estimated at least 60 British children are trapped in northern Syria in ‘dire conditions’, with many under five years old.

Last week, it was reported home secretary Priti Patel and other ministers blocked a rescue operation in October to bring some home over ‘security concerns’.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk?

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article