The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the Syrian Democratic Forces, wants to put the foreign fighters captured in Syria on trial in the region, SDC Executive President Ilham Ahmed told Sputnik
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2019) The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the Syrian Democratic Forces, wants to put the foreign fighters captured in Syria on trial in the region, SDC Executive President Ilham Ahmed told Sputnik.Ahmed noted that there were 6,000 fighters in their custody altogether, more than 2,000 of whom were foreigners from 58 countries.
"For the fighters, we want to put them under trial in our region. Because we have witnesses, we have proofs and we have the people who were harmed," Ahmed said. "So, we can make sure that nobody cannot run away from accountability. And so they do not pose a threat to the security and the safety of the other countries. I would say, they pose a threat to all human beings ... We are very careful that we do not waste our efforts and our sacrifices."
Ahmed noted that no country currently takes them back. "Nobody. Maybe after the trials, they will start taking them. After we conduct trials against them," she stressed.
In August, US President Donald Trump urged Europe to take back militants of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia), threatening to "release them to Europe" otherwise.
"It's their point of view; it's not our point of view. Rather than speaking about releasing them, let's speak about putting them under trials. This is our point of view," Ahmed stressed.
Also in August, US Special Representative for the Global Coalition to Defeat the IS James Jeffrey said that about 10,000 IS fighters had been captured and were held in northeast Syria.
European countries had been cautious about taking back their citizens who had joined terrorists abroad. France said it would still handle repatriations of IS militants on a case-by-case basis. Germany said it would only take back IS fighters if they had had consular access.
