Kazakh efforts to repatriate ISIL fighters should be replicated
Al Jazeera
Countries should follow Kazakhistan’s successful model and bring ISIL-linked fighters and their families home.
It feels like a long time ago that we fought the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). The world has moved on to other problems since the military defeat of this terrorist group in March 2019. Yet the challenges associated with ISIL are far from over. As well as the continuing global threat of terrorism, one of the key issues is what to do with detained ISIL soldiers, their families, and those that joined the group at the height of its power. For one reason or another, roughly 40,000 people travelled to the areas controlled by the group from 81 countries. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured thousands of foreign fighters and their families. In January this year, SDF said it held around 2,000 foreign fighters and 13,000 foreign women and children who are family members of ISIL-linked fighters. The question now is what to do with these individuals. While many countries, including those in the West, have hesitated to repatriate their citizens, Kazakhstan has taken a very different approach. Our country carried out operations “Zhusan” and “Rusafa”, as part of which around 700 of our citizens have been brought home, including 520 children. The others are mostly women. Twenty-five men who were brought back have been prosecuted as ISIL fighters. Our effort is based on humanitarian grounds. Many women and children were stranded without access to basic needs, including food, shelter, clean water, health and education. They were exposed to sexual abuse, exploitation and potential recruitment by terrorist groups.More Related News