At least two Canadian women and their children are among hundreds of “Daeshis” — or foreign ISIS families — held by Kurdish forces in temporary camps in northern Syria.

A 22-year-old Montreal woman, whom the Star previously reported had escaped the terrorist group and surrendered to Kurdish forces, is among the teeming camp population, according to her mother and Canadian officials.

But Nadim Houry, the director of Human Rights Watch’s terrorism and counterterrorism program, met a second, previously unreported young Canadian woman while visiting the camps last month. She was eight months pregnant and told him she was from Toronto and being held with her two children; one child who was born in Canada and the other in Raqqa, former stronghold of Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL.

Like all the women Houry interviewed, the Toronto woman wanted to know what would happen to her and her children.

The question of what to do with the women and children of Daesh is one few countries want to answer, despite the enormity of the problem.

According to Houry, there are 800 registered “ISIS families” of women and children from 40 different countries detained at four Kurdish-run camps. Almost all of the women have more than one child who was born in Daesh-held territory in Iraq or Syria during the group’s three-year reign — including the children, the camps’ population likely numbers in the thousands.

The women are in legal limbo. Their Daesh affiliation means many of their home countries are no rush to bring them back, but the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces occupying this area in northern Syria are in no rush to prosecute them.

While the Kurds have set up counterterrorism courts and prosecuted Syrian Daesh fighters, neither their control of the region nor their rudimentary justice system are internationally recognized. According to Houry, these women are a low priority in terms of the Kurdish administration’s “judicial triage.”

Sinam Mohamed, an international representative for the administration of the Kurdish-controlled regions of northern Syria, said they encourage countries to deal with their own nationals. “If any country wanted to get their citizens back home they are welcome,” she said in a telephone interview from Washington.

So far, only Indonesia and Russia have worked with the Kurdish authorities to repatriate their citizens.

“You need the political will to tackle these issues, but there is a fear factor that is preventing the development of any rational debate or discussion,” says Houry. “But by hoping that the issue just disappears by leaving them in this remote corner of north-east Syria, is just short sighted and is not going to make the problem go away. The longer it takes and years go by, the harder it will be … I just think it’s countries not owning up to their responsibilities.”

The Canadian government is willing to repatriate its citizens, unlike some European countries such as France, where President Emmanuel Macron said decisions on allowing women and children to return from Iraq and Syria would only be made on a case-by-case basis.

France’s most famous case involves Emilie König, a 33-year-old French citizen and convert to Islam, who is also being held in Syria by Kurdish forces, and has publicly asked for a pardon and chance to come home.

König would likely face terrorism charges upon return to France as she is subject to sanctions by both the U.S. and United Nations, for her alleged role as a propagandist and recruiter for Daesh.

That differs from the case of the 22-year-old Montreal woman, known by the pseudonym “Amina,” whose involvement with Daesh is unknown. The RCMP has not indicated whether she will be tried for terrorism offences.

Amina’s mother said her daughter called just a week after arriving in the region saying she regretted her decision, but was trapped. The mother worked for nearly three years to rescue her daughter and granddaughters from Daesh — her story the subject of the CBC documentary, The Way Out.

Amina and her 2-year-old daughter surrendered to Kurdish forces in November. She gave birth to a second daughter while in custody and now awaits her return to Canada.

The Star has agreed to not identify the Montreal woman or her mother.

Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Brianna Maxwell would not answer questions about the delay in bringing “Amina” and her children to Canada, citing privacy concerns, but wrote in response to the Star’s questions that “Canada’s ability to provide consular assistance in all parts of Syria is severely limited.”

It was not clear whether Ottawa was aware of the Toronto woman in the camp — or whether she had requested help to return home.

Men are held in separate camps, also in legal limbo.

The camps raise the spectre of mistakes made after the 2003 war in Iraq — future Daesh leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi formed alliances with officials from Saddam Hussein’s deposed Baathist government while detained in the sprawling U.S. prison in Iraq known as Camp Bucca. Together they laid the groundwork to eventually overtake Mosul in 2014, declaring the area the so-called Islamic State.

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Houry said that what struck him during his recent camp visits in Syria are the sheer number of children under 5 years old born to foreign parents who are vulnerable to falling sick in poor camp conditions — a potential “stateless generation,” he called them.

“These children are victims. They have not committed any crimes and they need support and protection. What I find amazing is the absence of responsibility for these children,” he said. “Some could be entitled to foreign nationality and probably have grandparents or uncles and aunts who would care for them. These are super young children and somehow you see very little sympathy for them. That’s the main issue I’ve seen.”

Follow Michelle Shephard on Twitter @shephardm.

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