World
UN expert decries practice of taking boys from their mothers at camps in Syria
A U.N.-backed human rights advocate says hundreds of boys — some as young as 11 — held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers on the “unproven” belief that they pose a security risk.
Fionnuala Ni Aolain, an independent U.N. rapporteur on the protection of rights while countering terrorism, aired concerns Friday about lingering “mass arbitrary detention” in the infamous al-Hol camp and others like it that she saw during her trip to the region this week — billed as the first visit of its kind by an independent human rights expert, Associated Press reported.
For years, human rights advocates have been calling on foreign countries — in Europe, north Africa and beyond — to repatriate their nationals from the camps housing family members of Islamic State group militants, especially children who were not involved in the atrocities carried out by the extremist group.
The group rose to power amid an uprising-turned-civil war that erupted 12 years ago and has left hundreds of thousands dead. At one point the militants controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq, but Kurdish forces backed by an international anti-ISIS coalition, as well as Iraqi and Syrian government troops, recaptured that territory by 2019.
Ni Aolain said her team’s experts have calculated that since 2019, some 7,000 people have been repatriated by some 36 countries — more than three-quarters of them women and children.
But tens of thousands of others remain left behind in the detention centers — and no immediate sign of getting out, let alone traveling to the countries that they or their families came from.
Fearing that a new generation of militants will emerge from al-Hol Camp, the Kurdish officials who govern eastern and northern Syria have been experimenting with a rehabilitation program aimed at pulling children out of extremist thought — by removing them from their families and whisking them away for training in tolerance and other education.
The Kurdish officials fear that kids who grow up in the camp could give rise to a new generation of violent extremists.
Ni Aolain lashed out at the use of “dehumanization language” against so-called “Cubs of the Caliphate” — a reference to children from areas formerly under Islamic State control — “to describe 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds born on this territory by no choice of their own.”
Ni Aolain said conditions were “dire” in al-Hol, which she said was currently home to more than 49,000 people. She expressed concerns about security, access to health care, and “scarcity of water” in camps where temperatures rose to 50 degrees Celsius and tents were providing shelter.
“The second issue I want to highlight is the separation of hundreds of adolescent boys from their mothers without any legal procedure, in what I describe as ‘summary separation’ based on an unproven security risk that male children pose upon reaching the age of adolescence,” Ni Aolain said.
“Every single woman I spoke to made clear that it was the snatching of the children that provided the most anxiety, the most suffering, the most psychological harm,” she said, alluding to the ”distress” felt by many of the boys.
“The taking of these boys may in itself constitute a disappearance practice under international law, which is in direct contravention of multiple human rights obligations,” said Ni Aolain, who is faculty director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School.
World
Houthi-run health ministry says airstrikes kill 33 near Yemen capital
The ministry said the strikes hit homes in the town of Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold east of Sanaa, and that most of those killed were women and children.
At least 33 people were killed and 39 wounded in what the Houthi-run Saba news agency said were Saudi airstrikes on a village near Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Saturday, in one of the deadliest reported attacks since fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned group resumed in July.
Reuters could not independently verify the account. Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication said it was investigating the report.
The renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce that largely halted attacks between the Saudi-led coalition and the group, which controls Sanaa. The Houthis have since launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, while Riyadh has carried out airstrikes in Yemen in support of its Yemeni allies.
The ministry said the strikes hit homes in the town of Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold east of Sanaa, and that most of those killed were women and children.
Abdul-Aziz al-Dailami, director of Sehatuna Hospital in Sanaa, said many victims remained trapped under the rubble, including first responders.
“The strikes keep coming. Just as rescuers arrive, another strike hits. We have even lost some of our own medical responders, who have been martyred,” he told Reuters.
“We received a number of wounded individuals in very critical condition, with injuries to the head, chest and legs, as well as fractures,” al-Dailami added.
The fighting, a spillover from the wider US-Iran conflict, has revived a complex 12-year war in Yemen that has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises globally and fragmented the Arab world’s most impoverished country.
The number of people displaced since the latest round of fighting began has climbed to more than 200,000, the International Organization for Migration said in October.
World
White House declares ‘Trump is still your president’ after Republicans suffer sweeping midterm defeats
The White House has issued a defiant message following a crushing performance by Republicans in the US midterm elections, declaring that Donald Trump remains president despite significant gains by the Democrats.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the White House shared an image of Trump bearing the words: “TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT.” The accompanying message added: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The statement came after Democrats secured a Senate majority and made major gains in traditionally Republican strongholds, including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Ohio.
The midterm elections, which determine control of Congress, were widely viewed as a referendum on Trump’s presidency. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats were contested.
The war in Iran and mounting cost-of-living pressures were among the issues believed to have contributed to the Republican setbacks.
Trump acknowledged that the conflict with Iran had affected the election results, particularly through its impact on fuel prices, but defended his decision to pursue the war.
Speaking to Politico, he said the conflict had pushed gasoline prices higher in the short term, but maintained that military action was necessary in the long run.
Iranian officials welcomed the election outcome. Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that American voters had rejected war, saying: “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR.”
Trump also reflected on his campaign rallies, saying the enthusiasm surrounding his appearances had failed to translate into support for Republican candidates.
“They just couldn’t transfer that love,” he said.
Although Trump indicated he was prepared to work with Democrats, he warned that political gridlock could follow, threatening to use his presidential veto to block their legislative agenda.
World
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim elected to US Senate
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s US Senate race, defeating former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers and becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, according to US television networks.
“Michigan, we did it!” El-Sayed declared at his victory celebration in Detroit, where hundreds of supporters gathered to celebrate.
“I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan,” the 42-year-old said.
El-Sayed secured the victory despite a late campaign setback when Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the party primary, endorsed Rogers shortly before election day.
A former medical administrator, El-Sayed campaigned on progressive promises, including universal healthcare, reducing the influence of money in politics and tackling the rising cost of living.
He replaces retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters and held a lead of nearly six percentage points over Rogers when US networks called the race.
His campaign attracted large crowds across Michigan, including in traditionally Republican areas, while drawing support from labour unions, activists and younger voters.
Republicans had launched a fierce campaign against El-Sayed, portraying him as a radical and questioning his patriotism. He also faced Islamophobic attacks and mockery over his Arabic name from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Addressing Vance during his victory speech, El-Sayed said the vice president was constitutionally obligated to swear him into office in January.
The victory came amid a strong showing by Democrats in several races, prompting jubilant supporters at El-Sayed’s headquarters to chant: “Tsunami! Tsunami!”
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