Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Blinken and French minister stress need to secure detained foreign fighters and support Syrian Kurdish partners
Loading...
Summary
Both officials said preventing the escape of foreign terrorist fighters held in northeastern Syria is a shared U.S. and French interest and that continued support for Syrian Democratic Forces is vital to preventing a Daesh resurgence.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and the French foreign minister said Friday that preventing the escape of detained foreign terrorist fighters in northeastern Syria and supporting local partners are enduring priorities for both countries.
Blinken said the detention of more than 10,000 foreign terrorist fighters "being detained under the vigilance of our Kurdish friends in Syria" presents a continued risk and that their release could enable a reconstitution of the group known as Daesh. "An even more acute danger would be if the more than 10,000 foreign terrorist fighters ... were to get out and reconstitute the very potent force that was DAESH," he said.
The French foreign minister and Blinken both emphasized the need to enable the Syrian Democratic Forces and to continue repatriation work for fighters and families. Blinken described working with Turkey to navigate security concerns and discussed longer‑term integration of local forces into national structures as a multistep process.
Why it matters: Officials warned that a breakout or loosening of detention would pose transnational security risks, and they presented ongoing support for local allied forces as essential to preventing an international resurgence of the group.
Details and context: Officials linked the counter‑terrorism objective to broader political transitions in Syria and said reintegration, resolution of questions over oil and borders, and the departure of foreign members of local forces are part of a longer process. They reiterated a common U.S.‑French interest that "the incoming administration, like this administration, will continue to show a very strong interest in not allowing DAESH to rear its ugly head again."
What officials did not specify: The ministers did not provide an operational plan, troop numbers, or timelines for repatriation or integration of local forces in these remarks.
Next steps and outlook: Both officials said they will keep working with partners and expect the incoming U.S. administration to continue similar counter‑terrorism priorities; they called for continued cooperation with Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces to manage security risks during any political transition in Syria.
