Chechen authorities promise help in recovering children-returnees from Syria

The boy and the girl, who were brought last weekend from the Middle East to Grozny, will undergo rehabilitation at the Children's Rehabilitation Centre.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on November 16, an 8-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother, who had been taken away by their father to Syria, were brought to Grozny and handed over to their relatives.

"Like other children returned from the warfare area, they need help of professional psychologists. Now they are with their relatives; in the coming days, they will get into the Children's Rehabilitation Centre," a source of the "Caucasian Knot" from the office of the head and government of Chechnya has noted.

The girl and the boy were taken to Syria in 2015 by their father, who is wanted for his participation in illegal armed formations (IAFs) in the territory of a foreign state.

"A month or two ago, it became known that the children were in a refugee camp. Thanks to the authorities' efforts, they were transported to Turkey, where they were picked up by their mother. There is no information about their father," one of the children's relatives told the "Caucasian Knot".

According to her story, the boy and the girl are adapting to everyday life. "They almost do not speak Russian, more – the Chechen language; they also know Arabic and can read prayers," the woman said.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.