Brussels – In a resolution approved by a large majority, the European Parliament has spoken out against Damascus’s destruction of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria. The violence perpetrated by the Syrian army against the Kurdish population “could constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and, in some cases, war crimes“, according to the Strasbourg chamber. In another significant passage, MEPs called on Member States to repatriate all their citizens who joined the Islamic State, the foreign fighters, and their families, who have been detained for years in prison camps run by the Kurds.
The resolution, drafted by five political groups—ranging from the ECR conservatives to the radical left—was adopted with 363 votes in favour, 71 against, and 81 abstentions. None of the amendments proposed to the text was approved. In addition to the two sovereigntist groups, Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations, most of the ECR also opposed or abstained, including the delegation from Fratelli d’Italia.
Two weeks after the agreement whereby Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces effectively surrendered to the siege by the Damascus army, MEPs stressed that “extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, forced displacement, and attacks on civilian infrastructure may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law and, in some cases, war crimes.” The resolution insists that Ahmad al Sharaa’s transitional government guarantee “full recognition, equal rights, and political participation for the Kurdish community“, while safeguarding “the territorial integrity of Syria.”
The European Parliament recalled ” the decisive role of Kurdish forces, including women combatants, in the fight against Daesh,” praising “the excellent cooperation with the international coalition in the EU’s fight against terrorism perpetrated by Daesh and the threat it poses to Europe, its citizens and its capitals.”
However, the most thorny issue from a European perspective remains that of the more than 40,000 Islamic State prisoners, including fighters and their families. Following the defeat of Daesh, the international community delegated responsibility for managing the al-Hol and al-Roj camps to Kurdish forces. Now, this burden should be passed on to the regular army of Damascus and some affiliated militias. Some of the prisoners will be transferred to Iraq. But in recent weeks, amid the chaos of clashes between the SDF and government forces, thousands of prisoners are believed to have escaped.
Among the 40,000, there are also several thousand European citizens who joined the Islamic State’s crusade in Syria ten years ago. MEPs called on the EU and Member States to “take concrete measures to ensure the long-term management of ISIS detainees and camps,” but above all to “repatriate all their citizens, especially children, from the al-Hol and al-Roj camps and bring adults to justice in fair trials.”
This point was among the most controversial, with right-wing groups tabling amendments to remove it from the text: the ECR called for “the right of Member States to refuse to repatriate jihadist fighters to their countries of origin and to revoke their citizenship” to be reaffirmed, while the PfE argued that foreign fighters “should be tried in the country where they were arrested or in the country where they committed the crimes.” However, the majority of the House approved the passage contained in the original text.
According to data from the British NGO Rights & Security International, updated in September 2025, 11 member states have so far repatriated a total of almost 1,000 citizens detained in camps in north-eastern Syria. More than half, 600, are French citizens. Paris has readmitted 541 minors and 59 women to France. Germany has repatriated 108 citizens (80 minors and 27 women), the Netherlands 46 minors and 20 women, Belgium 32 minors and 13 women, Sweden 27 minors and 10 women, Finland 18 minors and 5 women, Denmark 18 minors and 5 women, Spain 13 minors and 2 women, Austria 5 minors and 2 women, and Italy 4 minors and one woman.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
