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Chaos took over the displaced persons camp and Ayn Issa prison as the first Turkish shells began to rain. The guards of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS), in charge of keeping the special section where hundreds of women members of the Islamic State (IS) and their children are staying, were unable to supply. As so many times had happened in recent months a riot was cooking but, last Sunday, at the fire of the bombs and the confusion generated by the Turkish-Arab offensive, the escape was consumed.

"The Kurds suddenly told us: 'Get out! Run!' We didn't understand anything. Then, the Kurds left and only the civilians remained, "tells the newspaper 'Le Parisien' one of the 10 French who, along with 25 children, took the opportunity to escape. In the images of the security cameras of the enclosure, located about 30 km from the turcosiria border, they are seen running between tents on fire. The SDS alleges that fighting against Turkey forces them to decrease prison guard.

Yalal Ayaf, head of the Ayn Isa camp, informed local media of the escape of 859 prisoners of the IS on that day. Part of them were captured again; others managed to reach what they have subsequently defined as a "safe place." A place that, in truth, is two. The 'Telegraph' newspaper managed to contact two British, former IS collectors, who assured him they had been welcomed by militiamen from the Syrian National Army, the Arab force backed by the Turkish army.

While the whereabouts of the former may lead to believe that they could then be handed over to Turkey - with the possibility of opening an extradition process - that of other escapes, which claim to have returned to IS caliphate domains in the middle of the Syrian desert, It accounts for the high level of organization and preparation between extremist prisoners and sleeping cells. Consequence, in part, of so many months held without their countries of origin having taken action on the matter.

This situation leads to a disturbing question: can the Turkish operation 'Peace Spring' be used as a springboard for the IS caliphate to revive? "The 'Daesh' has encountered a great opportunity. In fact [his sleeping cells] have been attacked for months. Recently a car bomb exploded in Qamishlo, and they have hit Ayn Issa and Raqqa. There is an increase in actions," Omar explains. Abu Laila, a Syrian analyst. At a similar rate, numerous channels and digital media related to the Islamic State are reactivating.

A dreaded scenario is a reissue of the operation 'Breaking the walls', launched by the precursors of the IS in 2012 and 2013 in Iraqi prisons that, through assaults and car bombs, allowed hundreds of inmates to be released to swell extremist ranks. However, despite the latest developments and concerns, even within NATO, a military source of the SDS assures this newspaper that "for now there is no possibility of a new escape. The SDS are on guard" .

It is estimated that there are 12,000 prisoners of the IS on Kurdish soil, of which 2,000 are not Iraqis or Syrians. The men are in special prisons, while some 62,000 more foreign prisoners, mostly women and children, are crowded into camps such as Ayn Issa or Al Hol, where they have amply demonstrated their danger. Pledge of allegiance to pseudocaliph Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, violent riots and even murders of other residents have taken place in Al Hol, the largest of the venues.

Along with his announcement to withdraw troops, in order to facilitate the offensive that Turkey launched last week, US President Donald Trump carried the management of prisons on Ankara's shoulders, a mission accepted by Erdogan. "The US will not maintain what it could mean, over the years, a great cost to the taxpayer," Trump settled, lashing out at Europe for not taking charge of his countrymen, who now see a window to resume their terrorist activity.

Last Monday, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar blamed the SDS for "emptying" an IS prison in Tel Abyad, with the intention of contributing to the chaos. The SDS, meanwhile, hold Turkey responsible for a bombing, over another northern jail, after which an IS group was able to escape. "They did the same in Ayn Issa," they denounce THE WORLD. In order to secure its 'VIP prisoners', the United States has taken two Britons accused of executing Westerners under its control.

Meanwhile, nobody thinks about children. Tens of thousands of them, children of members of the SI, languish on Syrian soil, far from the homeland of their parents, under serious risks, according to organizations such as War Child UK. Minors "should not be criminalized for their association with the IS," recalls Rocco Blume, a member of the collective. Most of their mothers do not think of returning home, but of staying in Syria. The EU misses another opportunity to avoid a new generation of extremists.

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  • Islamic State
  • Turkey
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