NORŞAN ABDÎ

Kobanê – Despite the calls of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on countries for repatriation of their citizens, many foreign ISIS members are still held in prisons in North and East Syria. On June 10, the AANES announced in a written statement that it would establish a tribunal to prosecute more than 10,000 foreign ISIS members according to regional and international laws.

The relatives of fighters who lost their lives while fighting to liberate the areas controlled by ISIS, keep expressing their support to the decision of the AANES. 60-year-old Meryem Musa is one of them. She lost her children in an ISIS attack on the town of Sarîn, the Euphrates Region in North and East Syria. She told NuJINHA that the people of Sarîn suffered from indescribable pain and tragedies when the town was controlled by ISIS.

‘We never experienced such an indescribable suffering before’

When ISIS controlled the town, many people were killed. “We never experienced such indescribable suffering, tragedy, humiliation, fear and injustice before. Now, we are safe and live in peace thanks to our children who sacrificed their lives for us. ISIS carried out inhuman attacks; they killed people and destroyed our houses. My son was a fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to liberate our town and other towns and cities from ISIS. My son Baxoz lost his life while fighting ISIS. As a martyr's mother, I support the decision of the AANES on the prosecution of foreign ISIS members. ISIS members must be punished for their crimes against humanity.”

‘ISIS still poses a threat to us’

38-year-old Bahia Ali’s husband was a fighter of the SDF. “My husband Tişrin lost his life while fighting ISIS to liberate cities. After ISIS sneaked into the region and took control of many areas, they brutally killed people, including women and children. Women were deprived of their most fundamental rights. Our defense forces fought to end ISIS. However, ISIS has sleeper cells in the region. ISIS still poses a threat to us. For this reason, I support the decision of the AANES,” she told NuJINHA.

Her three sons were killed by ISIS

67-year-old Hilala Dakduk told us that one of her sons was killed in a house raid conducted by ISIS. “They killed one of my sons and arrested my other son. After a while, we heard that my son's car was seen in Raqqa. We went there to learn what happened to my son. However, we learned that he was also killed by ISIS. My third son joined the defense forces to liberate Raqqa from ISIS. He was also killed by ISIS. ISIS members must be prosecuted and punished for their crimes against people. I support the decision of the AANES.”