Macron Orders Return of 130 ISIS Suspects From Syria Back To France
130 Islamic State suspects from France are now been taken in custody
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French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the return of 130 suspected ISIS members back to France following concerns his government may 'lose track of them' once the US troops withdraw from Syria.
130 Islamic State suspects from France are now been taken in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) while they await their return to Paris.
They suspected terror group members expected to be sent back to France int he coming weeks, according to French channel BFMTV.
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As French channel BFMT reports:
The massive and organized return of men and women suspected of having fought in the ranks of ISIS or of being linked to the terrorist organization and now detained in camps in Syria under the supervision of the Kurdish security forces.
This expulsion must occur in the coming weeks, according to our information.
"All those who will return to France will be judicialized and entrusted to the judges," said Tuesday morning Christophe Castaner, Minister of the Interior.
"The Americans are disengaging from Syria… There are now people in prison who are being held because the Americans are there and who are going to be released,” he added.
He added: “They’ll want to return to France.”
Among those in custody in northern Syria is Adrien Guihal is a French Muslim who orchestrated the attacks in France including one in Nice that killed 87 people.
L’irresponsable Castaner prépare activement le retour de 130 djihadistes soi-disant français : face à cette forfaiture, je vous appelle à la mobilisation ! MLP
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) January 29, 2019
À signer et à partager 👉🏻 https://t.co/o4cGef501m#NonAuRetourdesDjihadistes https://t.co/51SCF8nBCc
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According to a source from the Daily Telegraph: "None of the practical details are fixed so far, nor the nature of any operation to bring them back, nor the exact number of those who would be concerned, nor a possible date.”
Eric Ciotti, a conservative MP from the main opposition party, The Republicans, said:
“The place of jihadists who betrayed our nation and fought our civilization is no longer in France.
“Let them be judged in Iraq or Syria for their crimes and barbarity.”
Marine Le Pen also fiercely criticized Macron's decision and Mr. Castaner’s comments that those in Syria and Iraq “are jihadists, but they were French first“.
She tweeted this morning:
“Non CCastaner, they are jihadists, they should no longer be French.”
But Nadim Houry, director of the counterterrorism program at Human Rights Watch, applauded the move.
She said: “This may be unpopular, but it is the right thing to do. Prosecute those who committed crimes, reintegrate children.”
The decision will make France the first ever Western European country to take back citizens arrested on suspicion of links to ISIS.
