France on Thursday carried out a new repatriation of children and women who joined areas controlled by the jihadist group during the existence of Islamic State’s territorial caliphate, a sensitive issue in a country marked by attacks in 2015.
Fifteen women and 40 children held in jihadist prison camps controlled by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria arrived in Villacoublay, near Paris, at 3:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. French time). This is the largest operation of this type of repatriation in three months, when 16 mothers and 35 minors were repatriated on July 5. Meanwhile, at the beginning of October, a woman and her two children were brought back.
Arrest warrant
“The minors were handed over to child support services and will be subject to medical and social supervision. The adults were handed over to the competent judicial authorities“, says the press release of the Foreign Ministry. Among the minors, there are 7 orphaned or isolated children, according to the statement of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat). The women are between 19 and 42 years old.
Three of those with warrants for arrest will appear before an anti-terrorism investigating judge later in the day to face charges, while the other 12 who have warrants for investigation have been taken to police custody. storage in Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) buildings. Among the latter is a 19-year-old young woman who was taken there when she was a minor, reports Pnat.
These women are among the French women who volunteered to go to areas controlled by jihadist groups in the Iraqi-Syrian zone and were captured during the fall of the Islamic State in 2019. Most of them have children born in 2019. in place. The collective of united families, which unites the families of French people who went to the Iraqi-Syrian zone, in a press release welcomed “great news that seems to seal the opt out policy “case by case»which consisted of the arbitrary repatriation of such and such a child“.
“Go all the way”
“But everything is not over. those who are left are waiting“, he adds. “France has started to repatriate in a significant way. we have to go all the way now“. “I wish all these children come back as soon as possible, four years of procedures is too long, and that’s especially for an entire childhood.,” abundantly AFP Marie Dozen, a lawyer for many of these women. “I can’t imagine France leaving more than 150 children, more than 60 mothers in camps in northeast Syria for the fifth winter.“.
Government spokesman Olivier Veran told LCI that he remains “dozens of other children are yet to be repatriated“. “There will be some collective repatriation movements. It happens gradually“, he said. The subject is sensitive in France, which has been hit several times by jihadist attacks, and especially on November 13, 2015 in Paris and the suburbs of Paris, which caused 130 deaths, instigated by the Islamic State (EI) organization.
“These women should be tried”
Faced with public hostility, France has long carried out measured repatriations on a case-by-case basis. But on September 14, the European Court of Human Rights, held by the parents of two of the women, condemned France for not properly investigating these requests.
After that, the MFA said that it is ready “to take into account“New Repatriations”when conditions permit“. In July, the authorities responsible for the fight against terrorism stated that there are about 100 women and about 250 children in the Syrian camps.
“Repatriating children is not irresponsible“, but”Repatriation of adults is a sin“, MP L.R. assessed on RTL on Thursday. Eric Ciotti. “If they committed crimes, these women should be tried where they committed them“At Europe 1, Marine Le Pen announced in her turn.It is international law, and obviously it takes a significant risk to return them to national territory, even though international law does not oblige us to do so.“.
Source: Le Figaro
