The future of 66 British nationals with Islamic State links, including Shamima Begum, has become increasingly uncertain as Turkish-backed rebels push forward against Kurdish forces in north-east Syria following the Assad regime’s collapse.
Turkey has launched an offensive against Kurdish groups, long-time allies of the US and UK in countering IS, amid the instability that followed Damascus’s fall.
The Kurdish-controlled region holds approximately 50,000 former IS fighters, women and children in detention facilities, including British citizens and former citizens.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby expressed concern on Tuesday that the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army’s (SNA) offensive could undermine the anti-IS mission led by Kurdish forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“It does have that risk of pulling the SDF away from the counter-ISIS mission, which we don’t want to see happen”, Kirby said, adding that discussions were ongoing with Turkish authorities.
Human rights organisation Reprieve, which advocates for detained Britons in Syria, has urged repatriation of detainees, noting that most are children under 10.
The charity claims nearly two-thirds of the detained women, including Begum, were trafficking victims coerced into joining IS.
Kurdish military leader Mazlum Abdi announced on Wednesday the suspension of “joint operations against Isis”, warning that the group has grown “stronger in the Syrian desert” and continues to plan prison breakouts.
Britain has generally resisted repatriation, revoking citizenship where possible as “conducive to the public good”. Begum recently lost her legal challenge against the removal of her citizenship, with the court dismissing trafficking concerns as irrelevant.
Whilst 17 countries, including the US, Germany, France and Canada, have repatriated about 600 people from Kurdish-controlled camps last year, the Home Office maintains its case-by-case approach. Britain has permitted two adult women to return, including one with five children in December.
Although the main detention facilities – al-Hawl and Roj camps, where Begum is held – remain distant from current fighting, both Turkish and Israeli forces have conducted air and drone strikes in Kurdish territory, which is home to roughly 4 million people.
Syria specialist Matt Broomfield identified the primary risk as the potential SDF withdrawal from detention facilities due to Turkish-backed advances, or a possible Turkish takeover.
The SNA has captured Manbij, previously under Kurdish control, with Turkish air support and is advancing towards Kobane, a symbolically significant location where Kurdish fighters and western airpower successfully repelled IS in 2014.
Turkey, historically opposed to Kurdish separatism, maintains that the SDF has links to domestic independence movements. Kurdish groups assert their independence and seek autonomy within Syria, though their relationship with Damascus’s new leadership remains unclear.
