Syria: UK keeping a close eye on British jihadists

Reuters

Dozens of Britons who traveled to support jihadist groups are believed to have been held in camps in northern Syria.

The potential return of British jihadists from Syria would be a “concern” and Britain was “monitoring the situation very closely”, the Home Secretary said.

Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle said the government was monitoring the “very fluid” situation in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Most of the foreign fighters detained in Syria are held in Kurdish-controlled camps in the northeast, where there is no rebel presence.

Although there is no indication that the security situation at the camp will change any time soon, Dame Angela said British intelligence would be “watching very, very closely”.

Dozens of British jihadists arrested while fighting for the Islamic State (IS) are believed to be being held captive in northeastern Syria.

Asked about the prospect of people trying to return to the UK and the influx of asylum applications from supporters of Assad, Angela told BBC Radio 4's Today program: “Of course it is a concern and it is a concern that we are continuing to take action.” . .

“Obviously our security services will monitor all of that and we communicate and collaborate with our neighbors.”

A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said jihadists detained in camps in Syria were “a key focus for the UK”.

“We are working with the United States and our allies to monitor the situation on the ground,” he added.

Rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have released prisoners currently held in prisons held by the Assad regime in northwestern, central and southern Syria.

But they do not currently operate in northeastern Syria, which is largely controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish-led militias backed by the United States.

The SDF holds about 10,000 fighters in 26 detention facilities, and about 46,000 people linked to IS, mostly women and children, in al-Hol and Loj camps.

The biggest risk to jihadists breaking out of prisons in northeastern Syria comes from Turkey putting so much pressure on the Syrian Kurds who are defending them that they will be forced to abandon them. But BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said there were no signs of that happening at the moment.

He added that, given the rapidly changing situation in Syria, there is an underlying risk that IS and al-Qaeda may seek to profit from the chaos and expand their operational areas in northern Syria.

The Turkish government opposes the presence of SDF troops near the border because it considers the alliance's largest militia to be a terrorist organization. They see the YPG as an extension of the PKK rebel group fighting in Türkiye.

Turkish-backed rebels fighting under the banners of the Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Turkish army have seized territory along the border between the YPG and the SDF in several offensives during the civil war.

As HTS-led rebels launched a lightning offensive to overthrow Assad, the SNA launched a separate attack on SDF-held areas north of the city of Aleppo. So far they have driven the SDF out of Tal Rifat and Manbij, and Syrian Kurds fear that more areas they control will now come under attack.

Just days after the fall of the Assad regime, the United States carried out airstrikes against IS targets in central Syria, where the group's presence was limited.

Among the high-profile cases of British residents who have left the UK to join jihadists in Syria is Shamima Begum, who traveled from London in 2015 at the age of 15 to support the group.

Begum had her British citizenship revoked in 2019, meaning she cannot return to the UK.

The 24-year-old, who is being held in a camp in northern Syria, lost her final appeal in a British court against her citizenship being revoked in August.

Asked specifically about Begum’s case on BBC Breakfast, Angela Dame said: “I have no thoughts whatsoever that I can share publicly.

“The court decided that as things stand she has no right to return. She has a lawyer entitled to continue her claim.”

On Monday, Britain announced it would stop deciding on ongoing asylum applications from Syrians who have fled the Assad regime and are trying to settle in Britain.

Dame Angela told BBC Breakfast there was “no basis for making a decision” on the claims as the country was “in the throes of change”.

“The majority of Syrians who have arrived and applied for asylum in the past few years have fled the now collapsed Assad regime,” she said.

Asked about the more than 5,000 Syrians waiting for an asylum decision in the UK, Ms Angela said today: “We cannot make decisions on such cases.”

She added that the UK has no plans to deport people back to Syria because the situation there is so fluid.

“Countries must be safe and determined to be safe under our procedures before we consider return,” she said.

With the future relationship between the West and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the Syrian rebel coalition, still unclear, Britain's decision on whether it considers Syria a safe place to return is a complex diplomatic call.

Declaring Syria a safe state will be a time-consuming process and will likely require some form of relationship with Syria's new leadership that currently does not exist.

The UK government has appeared to rule out granting time-limited leave to Syrians. That means people waiting for a decision will likely continue to be housed in expensive asylum facilities until there is more clarity on the situation in the Middle East.

Additional reporting by political reporter Jack Fenwick

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