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In Roj camp, Syria, July 2019. RFI / Noé Pignède

The return of foreign fighters from the Islamic State group from Turkey to France will be part of a protocol signed between Paris and Ankara.

Eleven foreign fighters from the Islamic State group currently in Turkey, mostly women, will be sent back to France. This operation follows the dismissal of several jihadists of other nationalities. It will take place in the framework of the Cazeneuve protocol, negotiated with Turkey in 2014, and which allows France to take charge of these fighters, who will be arrested as soon as they leave the plane.

" They are placed immediately in custody at the DGSI (Directorate General of Homeland Security, Ed) for questioning. Then the file that accompanies them is examined very closely. Then the ISB tries to see if there is material to present them to an examining magistrate so that they are indicted, even in detention, according to the facts which are reproached to them ", explains the assistant director of the Center French Intelligence Research (CF2R), Alain Rodier.

Foreign minors

If the procedure is quite similar for men and women of age, for minors, the situation is more delicate. When it comes to a child, the procedure tends more to reintegrate them into French society, as explained by the intelligence specialist.

" For minors, it's different. They are not released in nature. They are given to the specialized organizations that have to deal with their case. First, identity verification, to really know who their parents, or even grandparents who are in France, so as to better manage their future in France, "says Rodier.

The referral operation led by Ankara follows an offensive by the Turkish army in northeastern Syria.