47 Kazakhs evacuated from Syria: President Nazarbayev

By Aliia Raimbekova

ASTANA, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's president said 47 citizens of his country evacuated from Syria, according to the Kazakh presidency on Wednesday.

In a statement, Nursultan Nazarbayev said the evacuation of the citizens, including 30 children, took place on Sunday "as a result of the humanitarian operation carried out by Kazakhstan's law-enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

The people were tricked and taken to war-torn Syria and were held hostage by terrorists, he said, adding that the state gave all kind of support to the women and children upon their arrival.

Nazarbayev said, "These innocent people who were in a difficult situation are very happy to be rescued. They will go through an adaptation process and receive the necessary health benefits"

"We will continue the work on returning children who are held hostage against their will in the military zone," he added.

According to Kazakhstan's security services, hundreds of Kazakhs crossed into Syria to join Daesh since the vicious civil war broke out in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.