France repatriates 51 citizens from IS camps

According to a statement from the national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office, French authorities have reported that they have brought home 51 women and children from former Islamic-State-controlled areas in Syria.

More citizens from France left to join IS than any other country in Europe. This is the largest return of women and children from camps to France since the defeat of IS in March 2019.

The group includes 16 women aged 22 to 39 and 35 children. 14 of the women are French citizens. 12 women are returning with their children and four women previously agreed to the return of their children. Seven of the children are unaccompanied by adults.

Eight of the women have been taken into custody for questioning and the remaining eight were detained on arrest warrants. The children have been placed in the care of the child protective services. One minor, who is about to turn 18, is in police custody on suspicion of participating in activities of a terrorist criminal enterprise.

Along with many other European countries, France has been slow to allow the return of women and children for fears they would pose a danger to their homeland. France had more of its citizens join IS than any other European country and has seen multiple terrorist attacks since 2015.

French authorities have called for adults who fought with IS to be prosecuted in the country where they committed the crimes. French authorities have also been bringing back citizens and their children on a case-by-case basis, which has proved to be a long process and has been criticised by human rights groups.

A 28-year-old French woman with diabetes died in a Syrian camp in December, leaving her 6-year-old daughter an orphan, according to a lawyer that had been calling for their return since 2019. The girl is part of the group repatriated on Tuesday.

The United Families Collective, a group of families that has been campaigning for repatriations of women and children detained in the Kurdish-controlled camps of Syria and Iraq commended the government's repatriation effort and called on French authorities to bring home more mothers and children living in "inhumane" and "degrading" conditions at the camps, saying there are still 150 French children and their mothers at the Roj camp in Syria.

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