Mother and child are brought home from Syria on humanitarian grounds

Norwegian authorities will pick up a suspected sick child with the child’s mother and the boy’s sister from Al-Hol camp in Syria.

“This is being done on a humanitarian basis because we fear the child suffers from an illness ,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The Progress party has been clear that the child could be brought to Norway, but not if it meant that the mother was also returned.

“The government does not want to help return adults who have joined IS, but when it was necessary to bring home a sick child, the Conservatives, Venstre and the KrF agreed to bring the child home together with sister and mother,” said Eriksen Søreide (H).

The Prime Minister made it clear that Norwegian nationals who have contributed to IS in Syria and then want to return to Norway, must count on being prosecuted.

The Foreign Minister said it had been a very risky and demanding job over time to get the child home. She would not comment on the ongoing work for safety reasons.

– Only two people interned in camps in Syria have asked for consular assistance. One has subsequently said publicly that she does not want such assistance. The other is the mother who will now return to Norway with her two children. The other Norwegian citizens who are in the Al-Hol camp have not asked the Norwegian authorities for help to return to Norway, she said.

Eriksen Søreide asked for respect for the children to be shielded and not be judged or blamed for their parents’ choices. The police is assisting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the transport to Norway.

The IS- accused woman and her two children were taken across the Syria-Iraq border at 2.40pm Norwegian time, according to Aftenposten.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today