Small Wars Journal

French, Dutch Islamic State Orphans Repatriated From Syria-Kurdish-Led Authority

Mon, 06/10/2019 - 6:28am

French, Dutch Islamic State Orphans Repatriated From Syria-Kurdish-Led Authority – Reuters

France and the Netherlands have taken custody of French and Dutch orphans of Islamic State fighters in northeast Syria, an official in the Kurdish-led administration there said on Monday.

Authorities in northeast Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined Islamic State and their relatives after the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the group's last enclave this year.

Last week, Kurdish-led authorities said they had repatriated two U.S. women along with six children.

However, few countries have yet seemed willing to take back their citizens, who may be hard to prosecute, and the issue has led to fierce debate in their home countries where there is little public sympathy for the families of jihadists…

Read on.