U.S., Saudi Arabia urge European nations to take back IS fighters, families
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have called on European states to take back Islamic State or IS fighters and their relatives.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who ended his three-day trip to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, pledged $148 million for stabilization efforts in Iraq and Syria.
The announcement was made at a ministerial meeting of the international coalition against IS in Riyadh.
“This support will meet critical needs that Syrians and Iraqis themselves have identified,” Blinken said.
The meeting was co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. and aimed to raise $601 million for a stabilization fund.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said it was “disheartening and absolutely unacceptable” that some wealthy countries had not repatriated their citizens who had traveled to Iraq and Syria to join IS.
Farhan held separate talks with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on the sidelines of the coalition meeting.
The “caliphate” that IS declared in much of Iraq and Syria in 2014 was declared defeated in 2019 after counter offensives.
Thousands of fighters and their family members continue to be held in detention centers and informal camps.
U.S. commanders have warned that this could lead to a resurgence of IS.
Despite repeated calls to repatriate the fighters, foreign governments have allowed only a small number to return home.
They fear security threats and domestic backlash.
Blinken praised the countries that have brought their nationals home from Syria.
The anti-IS coalition was formed in 2014 after the IS’s lightning advance, which saw atrocities in both non-Muslim and Muslim areas.
Despite their territorial defeat, IS fighters continue to perpetrate attacks on civilians and security forces in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
The UN estimates that IS still has 5,000 to 7,000 followers in Iraq and Syria.
The UK has pledged $109 million over the next five years to support stabilization efforts in Iraq and Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria.
This is in addition to $19.9 million over the next two years to address acute humanitarian needs in northeastern Syria.
U.S.-Riyadh relations have been strained recently, primarily over the human rights situation and oil prices.
Blinken’s three-day visit was the first since the kingdom restored diplomatic relations with Iran.
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