Trapped in Syria, French families file suit against envoy
Posted September 16, 2019 10:53 am.
PARIS — French wives and children of Islamic State fighters have filed a legal complaint against France’s foreign minister, saying he was “sacrificing children” in the face of public opinion.
France, which was Europe’s leading source of Islamic State recruits, has been slow to repatriate any French citizens who joined the group, including women and children.
The complaint announced Monday includes about 10 families and names Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Their lawyer, Marie Dosé, told France Info television that a 12-year-old boy died last week.
France’s Foreign Ministry said the 17 French children have been taken back since March, and officials are trying to formally identify others.
Detention camps in Syria are holding over 70,000 women and children, many of them foreigners, who emerged from the last IS-controlled territories in Syria.
The Associated Press
