Mother says children taken to Syria unlawfully

Kefah Rabah and Kamal Rabah are being treated as high-risk missing people

An investigation has been launched after a mother said her two children had been unlawfully taken abroad by a family member, police said.

The children from Shropshire, aged 8 and 10, are being treated as high-risk missing people.

The mother of the two children, Alaa Azzam, said the children's father initially flew with them to Jordan, but her solicitor has since told her they have been taken on to Syria.

"I feel I'm now out of this world. My brain is frozen. Syria is not a safe country. They must be absolutely petrified," Ms Azzam said.

West Mercia Police said they received the report on Friday and extensive inquiries were under way to find the children and ensure they were safe.

Kefah Rabah, 10 and Kamal Rabah, 8, have been living with their mother in Church Stretton and have dual British-Jordanian citizenship.

Ms Azzam, who told the BBC she was granted full custody of her children in July last year, has flown out to Jordan in a bid to find the pair.

She said she believed her children had been taken to Jordan because the country had not signed the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

"The law's very complicated here with mother issues and father issues," she said.

Ms Azzam believes they were taken to Syria when the children’s father found out she had flown to Jordan, adding: "He ran away to Syria where there are no laws and no courts."

'I'll go to the grave'

The 33-year-old has been advised by her parents to go to Dubai, as they feared for her safety in Jordan, but Ms Azzam is adamant she will remain in the country.

Ms Azzam said: "I'm not leaving Jordan. Either I go back to the UK with my kids, or I'll go to the grave."

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "On Friday 16 February we received a report that two children from Shropshire had been illegally taken abroad by a family member.

"An investigation has been launched and the children, aged 10 and 8, are being treated as high-risk missing people.

"Extensive enquiries are underway to locate them and ensure they are safe.

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are supporting their family."

The Foreign Office said it did not provide running commentary on individual cases, but confirmed it was assisting a British woman following a situation in Jordan.