PARIS: France has repatriated three women and ten children from Syrian detention facilities originally holding alleged jihadists.
Anti-terror prosecutors confirmed the operation on Tuesday, marking another chapter in the country’s divisive approach to handling citizens linked to Islamic State territories.
The women range between 18 and 34 years old, with two immediately taken into police custody while the third faces potential indictment.
All ten children have been transferred to child care services under close monitoring by France’s anti-terror unit and local prosecutors.
France’s foreign ministry expressed gratitude to Syrian transitional authorities and local administrators in northeastern Syria for facilitating this complex operation.
According to the United Families Collective, approximately 120 children and 50 French women remained in these camps as of June this year.
The Kurdish administration in northern Syria announced plans in February to empty these camps by year’s end through coordinated efforts with the United Nations.
Repatriation remains politically sensitive in France due to the country’s history as a target for Islamist terrorist groups throughout the past decade.
This sensitivity stems particularly from the devastating 2015 attacks on the Bataclan concert hall and national stadium that killed 130 people.
Europe’s top human rights court previously condemned France in 2022 for refusing to repatriate two female citizens who had joined their Islamist partners in Syria.
In a related development, three French women began trial in Paris on Monday for allegedly traveling to join Islamic State with their eight children.
One defendant is the niece of Jean-Michel and Fabien Clain, who claimed responsibility for the November 2015 Paris attacks on behalf of Islamic State. – AFP
