Syria: SDF call for help with ‘time bomb’ ISIL fighters

Foreign ISIL fighters held in custody inside Syria are a “time bomb” for the region and the world, the Kurdish-led, US backed authorities holding them have warned.

World powers should increase efforts to prosecute Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) detainees and rehabilitate their families, otherwise they could escape and threaten the West, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chair of foreign relations Abdulkarim Omar said on Monday.

“It seems most of the countries have decided that they’re done with them, let’s leave them here, but this is a very big mistake,” he said.

Omar added that the SDF would not release the fighters despite an earlier claim by US President Donald Trump that they would be freed unless taken in by European countries, saying “we could never do this.”

He also warned any attack on the region by Turkey, which has vowed to crush the US-backed People’s Protection Units (YPG), which spearheads the SDF, would spark chaos and potentially allow the detainess to escape.

‘Time for others to step up’

Trump has suggested that the captured ISIL fighters – who number around 800 from nearly 50 nationalities – could be freed unless Europe takes them back.

“The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them,” he said in a Tweet on Saturday.

“We do so much, and spend so much – Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing,” he added.

….The U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go. We do so much, and spend so much – Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2019

Britain, Germany rebuff Trump

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the issues surrounding repatriation of ISIL members, which have become increasingly urgent as the battle for the group’s last redoubt ramps up.

Britain and Germany have already expressed doubts over Trump’s plan, arguing it would be difficult to implement.

“It is clearly not as easy as what has been put forward in the United States,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday ahead of the Brussels meeting.

“These people could only then come to Germany if we can ensure they are immediately put in custody. It’s not clear to me how all that can be guaranteed,” he added.

Maas’s comments followed an earlier rebuttal of Trump’s stance by the British government, which suggested ISIL’s fighters should be put on trial in places where they committed their crimes.

“Foreign fighters should be brought to justice in accordance with due legal process in the most appropriate jurisdiction … [and] where possible, this should be in the region where the crimes had been committed.” Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that London continued “to work closely with our international partners on this”.

SDF call for continued support

European officials complain that dealing with the fate of the detainees has been made more complicated by Trump’s abrupt announcement in December that he plans to pull out the 2,000 US troops protecting the area where they are being held.

The surprise announcement prompted the US military to caution in a report published this month that the group “could likely resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory” if sustained pressure was not maintained.

Following talks with senior US generals on Monday, SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Kobani called for about 1,000 to 1,500 international forces to remain in Syria to help fight ISIL and expressed hope that Trump would halt plans for a total pullout.

“We would like to have air cover, air support and a force on the ground to coordinate with us,” Kobani said.

The US-backed SDF forces are currently poised to seize ISIL’s last holdout, the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, situated near the Iraqi border on the banks of the Euphrates River.

SDF spokesperson Mustefa Bali told the AFP news agency on Monday that ongoing clashes with the group’s fighters were “sporadic and very limited”, with ISIL using “human shields” to block the SDF advance.

The SDF “are still working on trying to get civilians out”, Bali said.

Thousands of people have streamed out of the so-called “Baghouz pocket” in recent weeks, but no civilians have made it out in the past three days.