Global Affairs Canada has confirmed that it is aware of Canadian citizens being detained in Syria.
That confirmation came Saturday after who had recently fled one of ISIS鈥� last remaining strongholds: the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria. The two women, who spoke fluent English, said they were from Toronto and Alberta and travelled to Syria at their husbands鈥� insistence.
With the help of U.S. airpower, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are currently fighting to rout ISIS from the village, which sits along the Euphrates River near Syria鈥檚 border with Iraq.
鈥淕iven the security situation on the ground, the Government of Canada鈥檚 ability to provide consular assistance in any part of Syria is extremely limited,鈥� Global Affairs spokesperson Richard Walker said in a statement to CTV News.
鈥淭he Government of Canada is engaged in these cases and is providing assistance -- to the limited extent possible.鈥�
Canadian officials, Walker added, 鈥渉ave established a communications channel with local Kurdish authorities in order to verify the whereabouts of some Canadian citizens.鈥�
鈥淩eports of an agreement concerning the repatriation of Canadian citizens from Syria are false,鈥� Walker stated.
鈥楨ATING PRINGLES AND TWIX BARS鈥�
One of the two women interviewed by CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman on Feb. 9 identified herself as 28-year-old Dura Ahmed of Toronto.
Wedeman spoke to Ahmed in a barren desert plain in eastern Syria, where scores of civilians and suspected ISIS members fleeing fighting in nearby Baghouz were being questioned after surrendering themselves to the U.S.-backed SDF.
With her face masked by a black niqab, Ahmed recounted how she came to Syria from Canada four years ago at her husband鈥檚 urging.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything about ISIS or anything,鈥� she claimed in the CNN interview, speaking with a distinctly North American accent. 鈥淗e said, 鈥楯ust come and see, just come and see.鈥欌��
Ahmed described life in Raqqa, the one-time capital of ISIS鈥� so-called caliphate, in rather rosy terms.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e there鈥� you鈥檙e eating Pringles and Twix bars,鈥� she recounted. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 feel like you鈥檙e in a war.鈥�
She also expressed little remorse for leaving the relative safety of Canada for perilous Syria.
鈥淚 believe in Shariah, wherever Shariah is,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淒o I regret it? Coming, you mean? Like, no -- I don鈥檛. Like in the sense, I had my kids here.鈥�
The fate of Ahmed鈥檚 husband remains unclear.
鈥業 WAS JUST TRYING TO BE AN OBEDIENT WIFE鈥�
CNN also interviewed a woman who claimed to be a 34-year-old former graphic designer from Alberta.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said her husband had ordered her to come to the troubled country.
鈥淗e鈥檚 like, 鈥業t鈥檚 obligatory for you to come here -- you have no choice,鈥欌�� she recalled. Like Ahmed, she spoke with a North American accent.
鈥淗e鈥檚 like, 鈥業鈥檓 telling you to come here and as a Muslim wife, you have to obey,鈥欌�� she said.
The woman eventually relented.
鈥淓ven though it was really hard for me to do it, I had to,鈥� she said.
While in Syria, the woman said she lived a sheltered life, even keeping her children indoors.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 let them go to school鈥� because it鈥檚 dangerous, it鈥檚 too many bombings,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they don鈥檛 speak Arabic, so I taught them myself.鈥�
The woman, who was travelling with her two sons, said her first husband -- who she claimed worked as an ISIS cook -- was killed during fighting. She also claimed to be pregnant with her third child from her second husband: a Canadian who was also killed.
鈥淚 was just trying to be an obedient wife,鈥� she said.
鈥楤RING THEM HOME NOW鈥�
It is believed that more than two dozen Canadians are currently being held in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria. Many, advocates say, want to come home.
Alexandra Bain is the director of and : groups that work with the families of those caught up in violent extremist groups like ISIS.
鈥淚t鈥檚 far better to bring them home now all together with a plan in safety and security than to leave them alone in the camps of Syria where they鈥檙e cold and hungry and sick,鈥� Bain, who is also an associate professor of religious studies at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., told CTV News.
Canada, however, has so far resisted calls to repatriate Canadian fighters in Syria and their families, who could face up to 10 years in prison in the country if they were involved with groups like ISIS.
Amarnath Amarasingam is a senior research fellow at the London, U.K.-based and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo who researches extremism. Amarasingam says he understands the government鈥檚 stance.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what happens to them, we don鈥檛 know where they鈥檇 go next and we have no real eyes on them once they鈥檙e out of the prison,鈥� he told CTV News.
Even if the detained Canadians managed to leave war-torn Syria, they would very likely be arrested and charged in neighbouring countries if they were affiliated with ISIS.
With files from the Associated Press
