IS Captives Must Be Deported To Countries Of Citizenship - Turkish Foreign Minister

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 23, 2019 | 08:34 PM

Islamic State (IS terrorist group, banned in Russia) prisoners in Turkey's captivity should be deported to the countries of which they are citizens, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with Anadolu news agency

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) Islamic State (IS terrorist group, banned in Russia) prisoners in Turkey's captivity should be deported to the countries of which they are citizens, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with Anadolu news agency.

"The Islamic State had a lot of foreign terrorists. We neutralized 4,000 IS fighters. If they are Turks, we put them to jail and judge them. If they are Iraqi or Syrians, well, these countries also have prisons, and the same trial should be held. Terrorists from Europe should return to their countries. Right now those who should receive them are withdrawing their citizenship. This is wrong," Cavusoglu said.

According to the minister, there are citizens of different countries among IS captives. The prisoners are a key instrument for those who wish to revive Islamic State.

"We need to decide what to do with the captives, where to send them. And we work on the issue. Besides them, there are also terrorists' wives and children.

Some women came to fight, therefore, they are also terrorists. We need to treat them the same way. At the same time, there are women, who were kidnapped at 15, as well as children. We need to bring them back to normal life," he added.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria on October 9 with the aim of targeting Kurdish fighters and IS. The Syrian authorities have condemned Turkey's move as occupation, while Russia, Syria's key ally, has warned that Turkey should avoid actions that could hamper the ongoing Syrian peace process.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US Vice President Mike Pence reached an agreement on a 120-hour ceasefire in north Syria to allow the withdrawal of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the Turkish border area. As the five-day ceasefire ended, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a deal late Tuesday to pull Kurds back and establish joint patrols in a safe zone close to the Turkish border in northeast Syria.