UN Experts Say 100 Children Missing Since The ISIS Attack In The Syrian Jail

 A hundred children who had been detained in a prison in Syria, are missing for the past two months. United Nations human rights experts expressed profound concerns on this matter. 

The children have been missing since the January attack in prison. The UN experts also expressed their concern at the lack of clear information relating to the number of minors held in the prisons before the attack. The UN shared the data on this matter on Friday.

International rights groups including Save the Children and Human Rights Watch said 700 boys were in the Kurdish-run Ghwayran prison in northeastern Hassakeh province before it was attacked by ISIS jihadists. 

Reportedly,  the UN human rights experts said in a statement, “We are extremely concerned about those boys.” The experts further said, “Some of these cases might amount to enforced disappearance.”

The boys, aged 12 to 18, had adult relatives inside the prison. The boys were reportedly transferred from nearby displacement camps. The experts called on the authorities to allow humanitarian workers to have full access to children still held at Ghwayran in Al-Hasakah. 

The experts said, “Harm to these children must be identified.” They also demanded action against those responsible for crimes against children. 

According to the UN, many of the boys detained in the prisons were seriously injured during the attack in the prison. They did not even receive critical medical treatment for their injuries. 

The IS prison break attempt from Ghwayran triggered a week of clashes inside the Kurdish-run facility. Hundreds of people died due to the attack. ISIS attacked the prison in Hasaka on January 20 with explosive-laden vehicles and other weapons. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces also fought them. After the attack, 100 children detained in Hasaka prison went missing.