Middle East

France says Turkeys Syria offensive currently no threat to jihadist jails

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Frances foreign minister said on Wednesday that Kurdish-run prisons holding suspected jihadists in Syria are “currently” not threatened by a Turkish offensive, adding that he would soon travel to neighbouring Iraq to discuss ways to put them on trial there.

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"To my knowledge, the Turkish offensive and the positioning of the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] have so far not led to the safety and security of these camps… currently being threatened," Jean-Yves Le Drian told French broadcaster BFMTV and RMC radio, referring to the Kurdish-led forces that spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

The French foreign minister said he would discuss ways to put the jihadist fighters held in the camps on trial during an upcoming visit to Iraq.

"The subject with the Iraqi authorities is to find a judicial system that could try all these fighters, including the French ones," he explained.

European states are trying to fast-track a plan to shift thousands of foreign IS group militants out of Syrian prison camps and into Iraq, after the outbreak of fresh conflict in Syria raised the risk of jihadists escaping or returning home, diplomats and officials have told Reuters.

"There needs to be an ad hoc judicial system and that's what we'll be talking to the Iraqi authorities about," Le Drian said.

Baghdad fears revival of IS terrorist group

Le Drian said he would head to Iraq very soon because it was vital to offer support to Baghdad which was in danger of seeing the terrorist militant group revive its activities in northwest Iraq.

Iraq saw some of the bloodiest battles against the IS group and its government is already conducting trials of thousands of suspected jihadist fighters with many arrested as the terrorist group's strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq.

Despite his assurances that the safety of Kurdish-run prisons in Syria has not been compromised, Le Drian conceded Read More – Source

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