ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - On the fifth anniversary of their military victory over the Islamic State (ISIS), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday called for international engagement in the Kurdish-administered enclave of northeast Syria (Rojava), including putting thousands of suspected militants on trial.
“We call for broad international participation in restoring public infrastructure ravaged by terrorism. Additionally, the issue of ISIS detainees requires a global solution,” read a statement from the SDF five years after the force, backed by a global coalition, defeated ISIS in their last bastion of Baghouz.
Tens of thousands of people joined ISIS from across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The SDF captured more than 10,000 ISIS militants and their families during the conflict. The majority of them are Syrian or Iraqi, and about 2,000 are from other countries. The fighters are kept in detention centers while the families are kept in camps.
Repatriation of ISIS members and affiliates has been slow, with many countries reluctant to bring their citizens home because of security concerns and doubts they could obtain convictions in domestic courts.
The SDF said that governments should repatriate their nationals or “an international court established in our region can oversee fair trials adhering to international law.”
Last June, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES), which governs Rojava, announced that it will put on trial the foreign ISIS militants currently in its custody.
The majority of the ISIS family members are held in al-Hol camp, which houses 45,355 people, mostly women and children. This number includes 21,633 Syrians and 17,022 Iraqis, according to the latest figures from the US-led global coalition against ISIS.
“Ending the issue of ISIS families in al-Hol camp is a priority that cannot be overlooked or ignored, as the camp is still a ticking time bomb,” the SDF stated. The force is worried that the sprawling, unmanageable camp is a breeding ground for militants and human rights groups have warned of squalid conditions in the camp.
In late January, the SDF announced that it captured 31 ISIS members inside the camp.
The SDF also warned that ISIS still poses a threat to the world and the region, as the group seeks to rebuild itself through its sleeper cells.
“The complete eradication of ISIS from our region and the world requires dismantling its ideological breeding ground. ISIS is still trying to recruit new terrorist elements, attempting to radicalize them into its ranks,” said the SDF, calling on the international community to “collaborate effectively” with its forces.
On Friday, ISIS militants attacked a concert hall in Moscow, killing 133 people.
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