SDF denies deal to send ISIS captives to Iraq
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday
denied any agreement to hand over captured Iraqi ISIS fighters or their
families to Iraq, Reuters reported.
SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel cited Iraqi officials as issuing
statements in recent days saying there was a deal to hand Iraqi ISIS fighters
and their family members to Baghdad.
“(The SDF) denies the validity of these statements and
clarifies that there is no such agreement with the Iraqi government,” Gabriel
said in a statement tweeted by the SDF.
Iraqi officials said in February that the SDF, which is
trying to take ISIS’s last enclave in eastern Syria, had handed over 280 Iraqi
and foreign detainees to its military and there was an agreement to transfer
more captive jihadists.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday
that about 2,000 Iraqis in Syria, including women and children who had fled the
ISIS enclave, were expected to be sent home within weeks under an agreement
with Baghdad.
The SDF has captured thousands of ISIS fighters during its
advance across jihadist territory since 2015, culminating in its attack on the
group’s last enclave in east Syria at Baghouz.
Tens of thousands of people have flooded out of Baghouz and
nearby areas since the SDF began a “final assault” there last month, including
large numbers of ISIS supporters and their family members, including Iraqis.
This has created a humanitarian crisis at displacement camps
designed for far smaller numbers of people.
The fate of foreigners has also caused a challenge, with the
SDF accusing some countries of not doing enough to take back their own
citizens.