Four Vancouver Island children allegedly abducted by their father and taken to Iraq in August have been tracked down, according to a family spokesperson.
Alison Azer now knows the location of her kids, Sharvahn, 11, Rojevahn, 9, Dersim, 7, and Meitan, 3, and has travelled to the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq in an effort to bring them back home to Canada, the friend confirmed Tuesday.
Jody Korchinski said Azer was able to find her kids after the story spread on social media and on the news.
The Canadian and Kurdistan Regional governments have launched a joint effort to get the kids back, but Alison’s ex-husband Saren Azer, also known as Salahaddin Mahummudi-Azer, is reportedly refusing to release them.
“Alison is now counting on the Canadian government to support her,” Korchinski said in an email.
Their father had permission take the kids on a trip to France and Germany in early August but they never returned home. Azer has described the situation as a “nightmare.”
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for her ex-husband’s arrest and policing agency Interpol has listed the children as missing on its website.
A online crowdfunding campaign launched in August raised nearly $50,000 for the highly-publicized search effort.
Saren Azer, a well-known Canadian doctor, was part of a delegation that met with then-defence minister Jason Kenney in February to push for more humanitarian efforts in Syria.
