ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — If European allies of the international anti-ISIS coalition do not repatriate suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members, US President Donald Trump warned nearly 2,000 of these "dangerous prisoners" could be let loose.
"We have 1,800 ISIS prisoners taken hostage in our final battles to destroy 100 percent of the Caliphate in Syria. Decisions are now being made as to what to do with these dangerous prisoners..." Trump tweeted on Tuesday
Most of the prisoners are held in Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) facilities in Syria. The SDF repeatedly has said it lacks the resources to hold trials. French newspaper Le Monde has reported 800 Western men, 700 women, and some 1,500 of their children are estimated to be held in SDF camps.
"We have 1,800 ISIS prisoners taken hostage in our final battles to destroy 100 percent of the Caliphate in Syria. Decisions are now being made as to what to do with these dangerous prisoners..." Trump tweeted on Tuesday
Most of the prisoners are held in Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) facilities in Syria. The SDF repeatedly has said it lacks the resources to hold trials. French newspaper Le Monde has reported 800 Western men, 700 women, and some 1,500 of their children are estimated to be held in SDF camps.
"...European countries are not helping at all, even though this was very much done for their benefit. They are refusing to take back prisoners from their specific countries. Not good!" Trump added.
The SDF, the partnered ground force of the US-led international coalition, continue to detain suspected extremists in once-liberated areas.
“Special units” from the SDF arrested members of a "terrorist cell" east of Raqqa, its Press Office head, Mustafa Bali, announced on Monday.
Bali added two of the arrested were suspected of planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Raqqa city.
استطاعت وحداتنا الخاصة و بعملية دقيقة يوم أمس( ٢٨/٤/٢٠١٩)في قرية الجديدات شرق الرقة من إلقاء القبض على خلية إرهابية مؤلفة من شخصين تقوم بزرع العبوات الناسفة في مدينة الرقة و محيطها و بحوزتهم مجموعة من القنابل و المتفجرات pic.twitter.com/hrJ2VZTaD6
— Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) April 29, 2019
There is no established Western policy for dealing with the suspects. The United Kingdom has said it won't risk diplomats' lives by travelling to Syria.
The United States has repatriated the few US nationals who joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Other European countries are torn because they lack capital punishment and believe their nationals have the right to a trial.
Additionally, the Europeans are concerned authorities in Syria lack the tools to conduct fair trials which would also reveal key details about the way the group operates and the fate of groups they like the Yezidis.
Most European nationals joining ISIS in Iraq and Syria came from France, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation found in a study released in July 2018.
Human rights activist lawyer Amal Clooney argued on April 23 before the UN Security Council that several options are available for the West to get justice for victims of sexual violence committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
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