“There are about 10,000 non-Syrian Daesh terrorists under our control. The North and East of Syria [administration] and Rojava believe that an international court should be established for these terrorists,” Nuri Mahmoud told Rudaw TV, using another term for ISIS.
The ‘International Forum on ISIS: Dimensions, Challenges and Strategies for Confrontations’ kicked off on Saturday in the Kurdish city of Amuda.
It was presented by the Rojava Center for Strategic Studies, an organization close to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the ruling authorities of Rojava or the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES).
Prior to the summit, the NES said “they had just 1,500 ISIS prisoners in detention” before the final military defeat of ISIS in March by the SDF and the US-led international coalition in Baghouz, east of the Euphrates.
“[B]ut this number grew rapidly throughout the Baghouz operation as thousands of ISIS suspects either surrendered or were evacuated,” the NES reported.
The NES Foreign Affairs Bureau said there are now “11,000 former ISIS armed members” in detention facilities plus “72,000 ISIS-affiliated women and children” in camps under NES control.
As this was in international conflict fought by forces from several different countries, “they [the ISIS fighters] should be tried internationally”, he added.
The YPG and its SDF umbrella have previously called on the international community to take back their citizens who fought for ISIS.
“Of the ISIS suspects held by the SDF, the majority are Syrians and Iraqis. Syrian suspects are tried by the People‘s Defense Courts, where so far over 7,000 ISIS suspects have been tried and sentenced, and 6,000 more are awaiting trial,” the NES detailed.
“There is no death penalty, following its abolition in North East Syria as the region gained autonomy from the Syrian regime, and the maximum punishment is 20 years imprisonment,” it added.
Some Western countries are reluctant to take back their citizen because of security concerns and worries they will be unable to gather sufficient evidence to prosecute them.
Russia, France, Germany, and other European nations are among the states which have repatriated some women and children. The Kurdish administration has repeatedly warned they cannot manage the situation without additional international support.
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The three-day forum is attended by foreign journalists, researchers, politicians and intellectuals who are sharing their ideas about historical and political aspects of terrorism in northern Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava.
Head of Cairo Center for Kurdish Studies, Saeed Abdul-Fatah, reiterated to Rudaw on the sidelines of the forum that the fight against ISIS continues.
“I think this forum is the second stage of the fights against Daesh, stage one being a successful military confrontation. Kurds were victorious against Daesh threats,” he said.
“The importance of this forum is no less than the first stage [in the fight against ISIS]. This stage faces off the ideology of Daesh,” Abdul-Fatah said.
The Arab researcher described the 10,000 foreign ISIS fighters as “bombs which could explode at any time.”
Abdulkarim Omar, a foreign affairs official in the Kurdish-led administration, has previously said they have no option but to send these fighters back to their countries.
In April, authorities in Rojava announced they had reached a deal with Baghdad to send 31,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children, back to their home country.
The Iraqi justice system has been criticized by international watchdogs for its expedited trials and use of capital punishment, fast-track courts, and a lack of due process.
Translation by Karwan Faidhi Dri
