During the height of the Syrian conflict which started in 2011, thousands of European Union nationals traveled to Iraq and Syria to join insurgent terrorist groups, such as ISIL.
It’s estimated some 30 percent have already returned to their home countries. But as the war in Syria draws to a close, some EU governments are struggling with what to do with ISIL families who wish to come home. And some have been outright rejected.
CGTN’s Mariam Zaidi reports from Brussels.
Follow Mariam Zaidi on Twitter @zaidi_mariam
To discuss all of this:
- Judit Neurink is a journalist and author of “The Women of the Caliphate: Slaves, Mothers and Jihadi Brides.”
- Tania Joya followed her husband, an American jihadi, to Egypt, Turkey and Syria. She became disillusioned, escaped Syria with her three children and now works to prevent violent extremism.
- Farhana Qazi is a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and author of “Invisible Martyrs: Inside the Secret World of Female Islamic Radicals.”
- Will Geddes is an international security and terrorist analyst.
For more:
Bring them home or not? Debate rages over #ISIL brides https://t.co/fctX9JS8Fm
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 18, 2019
Dutch husband of ISIL war bride Shamima Begum says he wants to take her home https://t.co/jV3C0Y1hXw pic.twitter.com/ZK0wO1AdzE
— The Vancouver Sun (@VancouverSun) March 3, 2019