Trial of ISIS mercenaries... Between international neglect and Turkish anxiety, warning of ticking bomb explosion

The issue of foreign ISIS mercenaries detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces, along with thousands of their family members, is still difficult to resolve, despite the intense international meetings during the last period, which were expected to come out with a decision on that.

The United States of America chaired a meeting on Syria on June 28, in the Italian capital, Rome, with the participation of major countries concerned with the Syrian file, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Global Coalition against ISIS.

According to media reports, the meeting was scheduled to discuss the issue of combating ISIS and address the issue of mercenary families in camps in northeast Syria.

However, what was surprising was expanding the circle of the meeting to include the foreign ministers of the "Big Seven" and the "mini-group", in addition to Turkey and Qatar, known for their negative role in Syria and the region in general, as international reports confirmed the involvement of these two countries in supporting terrorist organizations, and Turkey is also seeking to thwart any movement to solving the region's crises, as it did with the humanitarian aid file.

They belong to more than 50 countries.. Farhad Shami reveals the number of ISIS mercenaries detainees and their families

Director of the Media Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, and during his speech to our agency, revealed an approximate statistic of the number of these mercenaries and their families, saying: "The prisons of the northern and eastern regions of Syria contain more than 12 thousand detainees of ISIS mercenaries, belonging to more than 50 European and Asian foreign countries, in addition to the Arab countries. In the forefront of which is Iraq, in addition to these, we have more than 70,000 families of ISIS mercenaries and supporters in the camps."

Shami warned of the danger of this, "these constitute a dangerous time bomb for the entire world peace and security, especially in light of the presence of a large number of children there who receive lessons inciting terrorism from their mothers."

Through secret and public visits, international officials have sensed the dangers of prisons and camps

On the role of the international community, Shami said: "More than once, we have called on the international community to assume its responsibilities, as there have been official, public and secret visits to a number of international officials to detention centers and camps".

He added: "The file of detainees, as well as the camps, is one of the most important files on which ISIS relies in its campaigns of incitement, recruitment of fighters, and attempt to reorganize. It benefits greatly from these in its incitement to murder and terrorism, and tries as much as possible to regroup its forces to reach these people or try to rid them by all means." 

He pointed out that "any ambiguity about the fate of this file will benefit ISIS only. The unknown fate of these creates hope among ISIS cells and its leaders that they can benefit from and reach them. As for deciding their fate, ISIS will lose hope and will create reluctance to benefit from this file again."

Warning of terrorist operations to get these people out, as happened in Afghanistan

Despite the work of the international coalition against ISIS for years, the latter is still looking to activate and relies on its foreign detainees who are in the Syrian Democratic Forces and the al-Hol camp, which is one of the most dangerous camps in the world.

Earlier, ISIS mercenaries issued a message to its members all over the world. The audio message transmitted by the mercenaries' spokesman, "Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi", was published through the mercenaries' platforms on the Telegram.

The spokesman called on the mercenaries to work to get them out, pledging to do so.

In an unusual move, al-Qurashi promised a financial reward to mercenaries who assassinate judges and other members of the judiciary who he said were complicit in imprisoning ISIS members.

The expert on Islamic groups and international terrorism, Mustafa Amin, stressed "the danger that the crisis remains without a concrete solution at the present time," and said: "We have repeatedly warned of it. This danger and neglect resulted in this apparent expansion of the organization in the Iraqi and Syrian governorates."

He added, "Most of the elements still have contacts in one way or another with these families and also with those in prisons. I think that the next stage will be to remove these criminals from prisons in Syria through terrorist operations, as happened in Afghanistan."

He continued: "The matter is therefore dangerous and complicated, and these places and sites remain hatched to support the organization and supply it with fighters, considering that the young people in these camps, who were ten years old, have become between 12 and 14 years old, and therefore there is a generation of young people waiting to join the organization, especially since there are no real treatment of the extremist ideology in the minds of the residents in these camps, which constitutes a great burden on the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Shami: International calls are positive, but they are theoretical, and the positions of some countries are immoral

On the seriousness of the international calls to resolve this issue, Farhad Shami said: "There are international calls, especially from a number of countries within the Global Coalition, sometimes collective, which is the most important, and sometimes individual pressures by some countries such as America."

He stressed that "these calls are important, especially as they agree with us in bringing those who committed crimes to justice and the need for victims to reach justice and see the criminals meet their inevitable fate in accountability, and there is a United Nations investigation team to enhance accountability for the crimes committed by ISIS in Syria and Iraq." Work is slow, but important."

Shami added: "Despite the importance of the calls, they remain in the theoretical framework and are often late and incompatible with the size of the case. We believe that the case needs more firm practical steps. Some countries, especially those with detained nationals, think narrowly and do not take the danger that these people pose as a potential future threat to their countries and citizens has always been our detainees now."

He pointed out that "some other countries focus on seeing their nationals' criminals outside their countries in any way they are, and other countries affect the issue of their detained nationals on their internal policies and try to take advantage of this issue in times of elections, all of these behaviors are immoral and far from humanitarian commitment, and harm the efforts of eliminating ISIS and its terrorist cells and opening the way for an uncertain future in this issue."

Individual solutions disperse the issue

He continued: "The issue of ISIS detainees concerns the international community in general. There are some parties calling for dealing with this issue individually, that is, every country that has nationals must act alone, and this is the mistake. There must be an international court for all detainees. Individual approaches will not solve the problem." Rather, it will disperse the issue and make it simple, and not all victims will get their rights.”

There are countries that are afraid of checking the files of terrorists

 He pointed the finger at certain countries, saying: "There were calls and demands before the last meeting of the Coalition. There are countries in the coalition that are pressing to resolve this issue but on the other hand, some countries overlook this issue, and other countries are afraid of it." Examining the files of the arrested terrorists, such as Turkey, which opened the borders wide and provided all facilities for ISIS elements to reach the Syrian lands, and then provided them with all intelligence and military support and provided asylum to its mercenaries fleeing Al-Baghouz while they are in the occupied areas in Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.

Shami noted that "in the event that any international court is formed in the presence of professional judges, no one will be able to deny the Turkish support for these mercenaries, then all documents of Turkish support for the terrorist organization will be revealed."

SDF proposed the establishment of an international court on its territory, and discussions are continuing

The Director of the Media Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces revealed the substance of their discussions with the international forces about this, saying: "We proposed the establishment of an independent international court on our lands, where these elements committed their crimes here. This court will ensure fair accountability for ISIS elements and enhance protection for the victims, as well as protect civil peace and is the basis for any success in resolving this issue and consolidating the victory we achieved against ISIS.”

He explained, "The establishment of the court here will ensure that all victims attend the sessions, as well as the delivery of evidence and documents in a secure manner. Until the court is formed, international protection must be provided for the regions of north and east Syria, protecting the region from possible attacks, as well as protecting evidence and victims, and ensuring justice away from external interference."

He added: "Through our discussions and meetings with our partners, we were able to convince many parties to support this proposal, and there is a general consensus on the need to find an appropriate legal mechanism to resolve this file, but there is no final agreement in this regard so far."

On the plans of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Shami said: "The judicial system in northern and eastern Syria began a while ago to try the local elements of ISIS, and we believe that any delay in resolving the issue of detainees of foreign nationalities will prompt the responsible authorities to start trying them according to local laws."

Shami stressed that the issue of ISIS detainees is an international and collective issue, not an individual one, and any solution must be based on the fact that elements committed crimes against entire societies based on extremist ideology and messages inciting terrorism and crime.

Unclear international strategy

The expert on Islamic groups and international terrorism, Mustafa Amin, says in the context of the international community’s lack of seriousness to hold ISIS accountable: “The international community’s lack of seriousness in solving the issue of ISIS mercenaries and their families is due to the lack of a clear vision and strategy to solve this thorny and complex issue that began to grow with the growth of the organization and its repositioning. Once again, in new geographies and in new cells, it became spread almost throughout the Iraqi territory and also largely in northern Syria, and began directing clear and depleting operations for the Iraqi forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government forces.

He added: "The issue of ISIS families and detainees   was not seen as an issue that might have catastrophic effects in the future, but rather as a temporary solution until they find another solution to it in the future, but with the complexity of the issue and the scrutiny of ISIS remnants on this issue. Prisons, camps, and these families, the issue has become more complex and dangerous and could constitute an incentive for some fighters and cells to continue their work and join the organization, considering that these families concern them in the first place and represent their families, and thus they are trying to find plans and mechanisms to get them out.”

America is withdrawing and Europe is in trouble... Who will bear the responsibility?

On the failure of international meetings, he indicated that "the meeting of the international coalition in Italy was closer to the word than to the development of real mechanisms to solve the problem of ISIS families and ISIS fighters in prisons.

The international coalition is still making resonant statements and empty of content, while on the ground it does not exercise the same force as these statements. The international coalition can once again restore its military strength and direct clear support operations to the Syrian Democratic Forces in eliminating the remnants of terrorism.

Amin pointed out that "the international coalition can do a lot, but it does not. It is clear that the participating countries are afraid of the financial cost. Who will bear this huge financial cost? Is the United States of America withdrawing from the Middle East, whether from Afghanistan or Iraq, or the European Union that suffers from problems?" and financial crises.

Quick solution or future disasters

Regarding the best solution for this, Amin saw, "First, the establishment of an international court whose mechanisms are set up by Western countries in cooperation with the regional countries concerned with this file and to prosecute them and return each person who was convicted to his original home. Funding programs to rehabilitate children and women who have not been contaminated by the killing and intimidation carried out by ISIS, and to reintegrate them again into civilian life, each in his country.

At the conclusion of his speech, Amin said: "The Autonomous Administration should not bear any burden other than those related to the Syrians, and the costs of this care must be undertaken by Western and regional powers and the international community in general. International powers have a huge and important responsibility that they must undertake, which is to end this human bloc. Which represents a focal point for providing ISIS elements with self, combat and moral force. This matter must be ended immediately, otherwise we will wait for upcoming disasters, and I think that its precursors and premise we see at the present time.”

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ANHA