Germany repatriates women and children with links to ‘IS’

Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said late Wednesday that eight women who had joined the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group have been repatriated from Syria.

Twenty-three children had also been brought back to Germany.

Maas said: “The children are not responsible for their situation… the mothers will have to answer for their acts.”

Authorities will investigate repatriated women

The aircraft carrying the women and children landed at Frankfurt International Airport late Wednesday night.

Upon arrival the women were taken into custody and are under criminal investigation.

Germany had arranged the repatriation along with Denmark, which received three women and 14 children as part of the mission, according to Maas.

The foreign minister said that he was “happy” to have brought the people back to Germany, especially the children who he said “were in particular need of protection.”

Repatriated group had been held in northern Syria

Before returning to Germany the women and children had been held at a detention camp in Roj in northeastern Syria.

Last month it was reported that two children were dying each week in the Roj and al-Hol detention camps. Families of IS fighters were taken to these facilities after the terror group’s final stand in in Baghouz, which signaled its collapse.

As IS loses control of its so-called Caliphate, the question on what to do with foreign fighters and their families has become more pertinent for governments.

There has been a level of reluctance to accept the return of people who had been involved with the terror group, largely due to concerns around the potential threat they pose and negative public opinion.

kb/jsi (AFP, dpa)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-repatriates-women-and-children-with-links-to-is/a-59430602?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf