(AP) Canadian officials are working with Syrian Kurdish authorities and international organizations to gather information and help Canadian citizens being detained in Syria, a Canadian government spokesman said Thursday.
Sabrina Williams, spokesperson for Canada’s Ministry of Global Affairs, cautioned that her government’s ability to provide consular assistance in Syria is “extremely limited.”
Williams’ comments to the Associated Press came in response to accusations by Human Rights Watch that Canadian authorities were preventing a Canadian woman and a child detained in northeast Syria from returning home for life-saving medical treatment.
The New York-based international rights group identified the two “gravely ill” Canadians as Kimberly Polman, 49, and a child under age 12.
