MAKHACHKALA, November 22. /TASS/. More than 1,200 children from Dagestan continue to be housed in refugee camps in the Middle East, Dagestan’s children’s rights ombudswoman Marina Yezhova said.

Russian presidential children’s rights ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova said earlier that twenty-six Russian children had been returned to Russia from a refugee camp in northeastern Syria.

"A group of 26 children has arrived. Ten of them are from Dagestan. They will be handed over to their relatives after a medical examination and rehabilitation. In all, since the beginning of the campaign for the evacuation of children from armed conflict zones, 383 children have been returned to the Republic of Dagestan. They are all living with their families and are under the care of their relatives. But more than 1,200 children remain in the al-Hol, Roj, Jarablus and other camps in the Middle East," Yezhova said.

The humanitarian mission for the repatriation of Russian children from the Middle East began in 2018 and is coordinated by the Russian children’s ombudswoman’s office. To date, as many as 592 children have been repatriated from Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Turkey.