(Brussels Times) The next government must decide whether or not to repatriate Belgian fighters in Syrian prisons, the interim foreign affairs minister has stated.
Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM) has identified 89 Belgians in the Syrian-Iraqi region, including 26 in prison camps in the Kurdish zone. Belgium’s interim Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) says that their repatriation must be considered. However, “this type of decision should be taken by a fully-fledged government.”
He made the comments during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara. Quintin and Fidan discussed the situation in Syria after various rebel groups, led by the Islamic militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), attacked government forces and deposed President Bashar al-Assad after 13 years of civil war.
