Shamima Begum's citizenship challenge gains new twist with Syria upheaval

Shamima Begum’s challenge to the UK's ban on her return to London is now taking a new turn as Kurdish control collapses in north-east Syria.

Her fate is uncertain after the Syrian Democratic Forces – a Kurdish group who controlled North East Syria – withdrew from Al Hol, a camp for 68,000 Iraqis and Syrians displaced by conflict that also detains foreign fighters on Tuesday.

This followed clashes with the Syrian government around the camp. Ms Begum is detained at Al Roj, another camp further north. The SDF has signed a deal with the Syrian government to hand over control of the prisons and detention centres.

Rights groups say that the UK’s policy of revoking citizenship for the dozens of British nationals detained in these camps had left them and their children caught in the deadly crossfires.

The families of these detainees in the UK were left in the dark and terrified at the “fragments” of information coming out of the camps.

Kurdish-run camps in Syria’s north-eastern Al Hasakah governorate are now set to change hands. AFP

“Today in North East Syria, British children are in mortal danger, caught in the crossfire as a direct result of the UK Government’s negligent policy choice to strip the parents of citizenship and refuse to repatriate them,” said Maya Foa, CEO of Reprieve, which works closely with the families of British detainees.

“This was always the likely consequence, but ministers chose to bury their heads in the sand to avoid facing up to it,” she said.