Turkey to send back foreign IS fighters

The Turkish government said on Saturday that it would send foreign Islamic State (IS) fighters captured in Syria back to their countries of origin, despite the unwillingness of European states to take them in. Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Turkey would hold captured foreign fighters “for some time. After that we’ll send them back to their countries”. Mr. Soylu said EU countries including the Netherlands and Britain had stripped some of the fighters of their nationality to prevent Ankara from sending them home. “They found an easy solution,” he said. “They say ‘I took his nationality away, it’s your problem now’. That’s unacceptable in our view, that’s totally irresponsible. What do you want me to do with your terrorist?” Turkey last month launched an offensive in northeastern Syria against a Kurdish militia Turkey has branded “terrorists”, but which was at the forefront in the fight against IS with the backing of Western governments. As part of the offensive, Turkey took IS members, who had previously been held by the Kurds, into custody. Meanwhile, at least 13 people died on Saturday in a car bomb blast near a market in a Syrian border town controlled by Turkish forces, Ankara and a rights watchdog said. Turkey’s military blamed the attack on the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia). A 120-km “safe zone” area between the Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain was established as part of an October 17 deal between Ankara and Washington, involving a ceasefire and the YPG’s full withdrawal from the stretch. On Friday, Turkish troops began joint patrols with Russian forces in northern Syria to ensure the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters.

Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/turkey-to-send-back-foreign-is-fighters/article29867457.ece

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