Kurdish-led Administration To Begin Trials for Detained ISIS Fighters Despite Int’l Objections

The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria announced on Saturday that it would begin trying thousands of fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group who have been kept in custody for years, despite objections. The decision comes after years of requests for local countries to repatriate the detainees.

The US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is holding over 10,000 IS fighters in around two dozen detainment centers around the region. In their statement, local officials from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria called on the international community, including the United Nations and other international rights groups, to facilitate the trials.

The specifics of the trials are unknown. In an online statement, the SDF said it would provide “open, free and transparent trials,” though the detainees would not receive court-appointed lawyers. It is believed that the trials will take place in SDF-controlled areas in northeast and eastern Syria, where the US maintains a military presence.

The United States recently pledged almost $150 million in funding for stabilization efforts in Syria and Iraq. It is part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which is made up of 85 countries across five continents that have committed themselves to fighting the extremist group.