US President Donald Trump has threatened to send ISIS jihadists detained in Syria back to their countries of origin. „We are currently holding thousands of IS fighters. Europe has to take them over, „Trump told journalists yesterday in Washington. He explicitly named Germany and France.
The US president referred to prisoners who had arrested the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance in their successful fight against the Islamic State (IS). The US had assisted the SDF in this fight. Trump has been calling for Europeans to withdraw IS jihadists for months now. However, the EU states have reacted very hesitantly.
Implementation unclear
Germany rejects the blanket withdrawal of German IS supporters and their children and has made only a few exceptions. In addition to security reasons, it is also argued that cooperation with the Kurdish self-government in northeastern Syria is not possible for the withdrawal of German citizens because it is not a recognized state.
Trump now said his government is not planning to „pocket“ and „pay for“ ISIS members from Europe „for the next 50 years“ to the US detention center in Cuba. He left unclear how he would send IS members back to their countries of origin.
