Approximately 250–300 citizens of Tajikistan, mostly women and children, remain in Syria and Iraq, while their fate remains uncertain. Following the change of government in Syria, the repatriation process was suspended, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Tajikistan reported.
According to Sukhaili Abduhafizzoda, Head of the Department for State Protection of Children’s Rights at the Ombudsman’s Office, a total of 382 Tajik women and children were repatriated from conflict zones in Syria and Iraq during four stages of return operations.
Specifically, 84 children were brought back in 2019, 144 women and children in 2022, 104 in 2023, and another 47 women and children in 2024.
In addition, around 90 Tajik citizens returned from Syria and Iraq independently, although Abduhafizzoda did not specify how this was accomplished.
According to the latest available data, about 800 Tajik women and children were initially located in these countries. “At present, approximately 250–300 of them still remain there,” he said.
“Through their own fault”
Abduhafizzoda also noted that following the establishment of a new government in Syria, Tajikistan’s working group on repatriation suspended the process of returning its citizens.
“At the final stage in 2024, we planned to bring back all remaining women and children. However, unfortunately, this was not possible, primarily through their own fault — they refused to return,” he explained.
He said most of those remaining fear that criminal cases could be initiated against them upon their return to Tajikistan.
“Such concerns were also shared by some of the women who have already been repatriated. However, after returning, they realized that no criminal cases were opened and that they were forgiven,” Abduhafizzoda emphasized.
He added that all children previously returned to Tajikistan were reunited with their families. At the same time, the fate of the women and children who remain in Syria and Iraq continues to be unclear.
According to official data, since 2013, following the rise of the terrorist organization Islamic State, more than 2,500 Tajik citizens joined the group. Some of the men took their wives and children with them to Syria and Iraq.
Authorities report that by 2017, most Tajik men who had joined the group were killed in combat or went missing. As a result of the conflict, some Tajik women and children also lost their lives. More than 500 Tajik citizens, mainly women and children, ended up in territories controlled by Kurdish forces in Syria, where they were held in camps for extended periods.
At the same time, many Tajik women and their relatives have repeatedly told the media that they were deceived and followed their husbands to Syria and Iraq without understanding the real consequences.
