10/09/2019

Planned Turkish military intervention in Syria

Human rights organization warns of terrorist threat in Europe (Press Release)

If the so-called Islamic State regains strength, thousands of fighters who were kept detained in northeastern Syria might be able to spread terror in Europe. No one really expects Turkey to prosecute IS militants for their crimes, the human rights organization warned. Picture: Refugee camp Al-Hol in northern Syria. STP/2019

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) is calling for a special session of the UN Security Council, with the aim of warning Turkey of the dramatic consequences of a military intervention in Syria. "A Turkish offensive would not only jeopardize peace and stability in Syria – it would also be a serious threat to Europe," stated Ulrich Delius, the STP's director, in Göttingen on Wednesday. "If the so-called Islamic State regains strength, thousands of fighters who were kept detained in northeastern Syria might be able to spread terror in Europe." No one really expects Turkey to prosecute IS militants for their crimes, the human rights organization warned. Turkey has been supporting Islamist movements in its neighboring country for years. A few days ago, US President Donald Trump had given Turkey responsibility for the fate of the IS fighters imprisoned in northeastern Syria.

The STP calls for a concerted international initiative to bring the up to 10,000 imprisoned IS fighters to justice and to try to reintegrate them into society. In order to do so, they would have to be taken back to their home countries or to third countries from the refugee camps in Syria, together with their approximately 73,000 family members. "If the IS terrorists currently held by Kurdish fighters were to be freed in the course of the Turkish military operation, they would be a significant security risk," Delius warned. Following the first Turkish statements regarding the offensive, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces had stated that they could no longer to secure the prison camps due to other military priorities.

The human rights organization emphasized that Germany must now take action, in order to protect the civilian population in Northeast Syria and because of the threats to peace in the Middle East and in Europe. The Federal Government should use its seat in the Security Council to prevent a new escalation of violence.

Header image: STP/2019