Syria ready to return detained Tunisian militants

Syria ready to return detained Tunisian militants
Fri Jun 7, 2013 19:59:29

Syria is ready to speedup procedures of extraditing militant Tunisian detainees who illegally entered Syria to fight against the government but were not involved in killing of Syrian people during the bloody foreign-backed insurgency in the country.

"The Syrian government will extradite the Tunisians in case they hold on to the legal commitment to follow up prosecution nationally and internationally," Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Miqdad said at a press conference at Sheraton with a Tunisian delegation of civil society and families of the detainees according to SANA news agency.

He said Tunisian militants should file a complaint to the UN Security Council and the international organizations against those who invited them to fight and contributed in funding and recruiting them and offered them safe haven.

He added that the government cooperates with the Syrian civil society and international organizations to work on the issue of the Tunisian fighters who want to give up and retreat from the battlefield through ensuring clear mechanism to guarantee fair and transparent procedures according to the international laws.

"The Syrian government has worked and will work to find solutions to problems of the Tunisian citizens living in Syria whether in relation to legal residency, education or other issues," Miqdad said.

He added that implementing these procedures depends on the policies of Tunisian authorities and their readiness to cooperate properly.

Miqdad said, "We wish Tunisian people live in peace and security away from terrorism and Takfiri mentality."

Tunisia estimates that around 40% of foreign militants fighting against the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad hold Tunisian nationality.

More than two-thirds of them have joined al-Nusra Front.
 

The problem has raised grave concerns among Tunisian families who witness departure of their youths who are deceived by terrorist groups to go fight in Syria.

On Thursday Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri tapped into the deepening rifts among militant groups stemming from the conflict, calling on his supporters everywhere to devote their lives, money and expertise to the overthrow the Syrian government.

Syria has been struggling with a bloody insurgency which is strongly supported by United States, Israel and their western and regional allies since March 2011.

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