Chris Lange, FISM News
French authorities on Tuesday repatriated 16 female terrorism suspects and 35 minors from refugee camps in northeastern Syria.
The women, aged between 22 and 39, were handed over to French judicial authorities, according to Reuters, which cited France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor. Eight women were taken into custody for questioning; the other eight were detained on arrest warrants. Seven of the minors being returned were unaccompanied by adults, and one 17-year-old is currently in police custody on suspicion of participation in terrorist activities.
During Syria’s ongoing civil war dating back to March 2011, the Islamic State jihadist group (IS) took control of much of the country, as well as parts of neighboring Iraq, until it was defeated in 2017. IS actively recruited Europeans as fighters and as wives.
More French citizens traveled to Syria to join IS than from any other country in Europe, and France, in particular, has endured a deadly spate of Islamic terror attacks since 2015. The country has come under increasing pressure by human rights groups over its reluctance to repatriate the refugees, which apparently prompted Tuesday’s announcement.
Fourteen of the women are French citizens and the other two are mothers of French citizens. Most of the 35 minors brought back accompanied their mothers, but seven minors located in camps were on their own.
French authorities maintain that adult men and women who fought with IS should be prosecuted in the country where they had committed crimes. They previously insisted on bringing citizens and their children back on a case-by-case basis.
The Syrian war began as a protest against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 but eventually spread into a multi-sided conflict involving world powers. While the frontlines of the conflict have been mostly inactive for several years, sporadic violence continues to erupt.
The United Nations reported last month that around 350,000 civilians have been killed in the ongoing conflict. According to the report, around 6 million civilians have fled, with 6.7 million estimated to be internally displaced.