Dundee mother set to flee Syria after winning divorce battle

A Dundee-born single mum trapped in Syria is set to flee the war-torn country with her young sons after winning a two-year legal battle.

Jannah Reid has been granted a divorce from her estranged husband who walked out shortly after the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Strict local laws prevented her fromleaving the conflict zone with her children from the failed marriage without the written permission of her husband.

But a Syrian court has rubber-stamped a split and the 51-year-old former High School of Dundee pupil hopes the decision will pave the way for her to flee with her sons.

Speaking exclusively to The Courier, she said: “I’m finally free of the weight around my neck. I am now divorced from the children’s father, legally.”

Jannah has been living in an apartment block in downtown Damascus, teachingEnglish to make ends meet.

She hopes to be on a plane out of Syria by the end of the week but the mother, who still has family in Dundee, revealed she will not return to the city.

“I am not coming back to the UK,” Jannah said. “I am going to Egypt.”

For more on this story see Wednesday’s Courier or try our digital edition.