The two children who ran away from their Syrian father and sought refuge in the Dutch embassy in Damascus arrived back in the Netherlands this afternoon. The return of Annar (13) and his sister Sara (11) comes after months of intensive talks between Dutch and Syrian authorities over custody of the children.

The children fled to the embassy saying they wanted to return to live with their mother in Groningen. ‘The Syrian government has played an extremely positive role [in this affair]. The children’s father finally agreed to allow the kids to return to the Netherlands,’ said the Dutch foreign ministry in a statement.