More than twenty French jihadists have escaped from the Kurdish camps in Syria since October. If half were caught by the Kurdish, Turkish forces or the troops of Bashar al-Assad, and some expelled in France by Turkey, 13 are still wanted. President of the Center for Terrorism Analysis (CAT), a Paris-based think-tank, Jean-Charles Brisard believes that France must quickly review its doctrine of non-repatriation of French jihadists as soon as possible to avoid "a catastrophe humanitarian and security ”.
How to explain these escapes?
JEAN-CHARLES BRISARD.First, by the inability of the Kurds to ensure the security of places of detention. Without the intervention of coalition forces, the regular mutinies taking place there would have already resulted in massive escapes. There is also regional instability with the Turkish invasion and the departure of American troops, which reduces the intervention and training capacity of Kurdish security personnel. ISIS pressure and propaganda also play a lot. In his last speech, before his death last September, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on his supporters to do everything to free the prisoners. Finally there is the health crisis. The Kurds had to lighten their security device. These camps have become permeable and dangerous. They serve as waiting and withdrawal zones for certain women who have found refuge there under false identities and await the opportune moment to flee.
Why do these escapes only concern women?
Many men died in combat. Only about sixty French people are detained by the Kurds for twice that for women. Furthermore, security measures are less important for women and they are not subject to the same rigor as men at checkpoints. For the anecdote, three very well-known French jihadists, two of whom are now on death row in Iraq, dressed up as women in an attempt to flee.
Is it a mistake not to repatriate the French jihadists?
France's position has become untenable. Recently the US Defense Department said it feared a massive escape from prisons. This situation germinates a humanitarian catastrophe, and ultimately a security disaster. It should be remembered that the dispersal of jihadists after the Afghan conflict is at the origin of the expansion of Al-Qaeda. Our refusal to repatriate these women and their children gives grain to jihadist propaganda, like what Guantanamo represented for Al-Qaeda.
That is to say ?
It is a lever for IS propaganda and the recruitment of jihadists. Not to mention that some of these women can help bring the truth out in many court cases. They have learned from their husbands of the planning, preparation and demand for attacks in France and we therefore deprive ourselves of sources of information and evidence in important terrorist cases.
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What danger can these women represent?
These women are all the subject of legal proceedings in France, sometimes criminal. They should not be able to escape French justice, especially since some of them, if they returned to hiding, could be tempted by violent actions on the territory, as shown by the multiplication of projects and attempted attacks in France involving women from 2016. They constitute an integral part of the terrorist threat.