US, Saudi top diplomats urge repatriation of detained IS recruits


  • World
  • Thursday, 08 Jun 2023

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/Pool

RIYADH (Reuters) - The United States and Saudi Arabia urged countries to take back citizens captured in the fight against Islamic State, with the kingdom's top diplomat saying it was "absolutely unacceptable" that wealthy countries skirted that responsibility.

"I would say to those countries, you must step up," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a meeting of the U.S.-led coalition in Riyadh.

Speaking at the same conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said repatriation was key to ensuring the lasting defeat of Islamic State.

He said detention centers were holding nearly 10,000 Islamic State fighters, 2,000 of whom are from countries other than Syria and Iraq.

"Failure to repatriate foreign terrorist fighters risks the possibility that they could again take up arms and attempt to restore ISIS’s so-called caliphate," Blinken said.

Blinken announced nearly $150 million for Syrians and Iraqis to help improve humanitarian conditions, noting that hardship and disillusionment provided a breeding ground for Islamic State recruits.

Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, the Sunni hardline group controlled one third of Iraq and Syria at its peak in 2014. Though it was beaten back in both countries, Islamic State militants continue to wage attacks.

Repatriations hit a record high in 2022, but more than 10,000 foreign women and children remain in the Al-Hol and Roj camps, according to Kurdish authorities.

(Reporting by Nadine Awadalla, Nayera Abdallah, Humeyra Pamuk and Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Peter Graff and Christina Fincher)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In World

Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains – and bots
How tech created a ‘recipe for loneliness’
New Zealand rejects Cook Islands passport plan
How data shared in the cloud is aiding snow removal
Brazil bridge collapses, spilling sulfuric acid into river
Do you have a friend in AI?
Slovak PM meets Putin to discuss transit of Russian gas
Russia captures two villages in Ukraine as Moscow's forces advance on two cities
Turkish foreign minister says no room for Kurdish militants in Syria's future
Tens of thousands gather in anti-government protest in Belgrade

Others Also Read