Twenty-one Maldivians from five families who left to fight in the Syrian civil war were brought to the Maldives today.
They arrived this morning on a private chartered flight. They include 15 children, five women and one man.
A government official told Adhadhu on the condition of anonymity that some of the children brought back today had been born in Syria and were made Maldivian citizens after DNA testing.
After medical checkups, the 21 people are due to be taken to a designated center later today. They will be released to society after undergoing rehabilitation at the center.
Several Maldivians traveled to join Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda when the organizations controlled parts of Syria. Some of them took their families and many people died but Maldivians still remain in refugee camps in Syria.
Efforts to bring back Maldivians in Syrian camps started under the previous government.
