Govt. to verify list naming Maldivians in Syria

The government is checking the authenticity of a list that reportedly names the Maldivians at a Syrian refugee camp.

National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) on Tuesday said they are looking into the list circulating on social media naming the identities of Maldivians at Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria.

The list included the names of 33 people, including the names of 12 children reportedly born in Syria to Maldivians. The women on the list are the wives of the Maldivian men who traveled to Syria to join the war taking place in the country, and several women have been forced to marry other men after their husbands died, the reports say.

Thee list states details such as the Maldivian address, island and ID card number of some individuals, while no information except the names of other individuals were published.

Director General of NCTC Brigadier Zakariyya Mansoor told AVAS that the center is working with the police to verify the authenticity of the list. He did not divulge further details.

The government had earlier stated that 61 Maldivian men has traveled to Syria to join the war. However, the number of women and children who joined the men has not been officially reported.

Earlier this year, the government had revealed that the families of several Maldivians in Syria has requested the government’s assistance in bringing their loved ones back to Maldives. However, confirming the nationality of the children born to Maldivians in Syria poses a huge challenge to the government, Mansoor previously said.

“The government is working through several platforms. This includes our efforts working through diplomatic channels to ensure their nationality”, said Mansoor when asked if the governments efforts to bring back the Maldivians is progressing.

The fall of ISIS in Syria and Iraq has prompted thousands of fighters into surrendering from the war. These fighters, whose wives and children now remain at Al-Hawl refugee camp, were jailed.

The Al-Hawl refugee camp is a refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the town of Al-Hawl in northern Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border. Statistics show that over 70,000 people are currently at the camp, and are in need of basic necessities such as food and medicine.