Ribal Al-Assad warns against further attacks committed by returning Syrian fighters
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Brussels shooting raises fears over European fighters returning from Syria
GUARDIAN NEWS
The arrest of Mehdi Nemmouche on suspicion of killing three people in an attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels will enhance the fear of repercussions as European volunteer fighters return from Syria.
More than 1,000 Europeans, including several hundred French nationals and perhaps 400 Britons, are believed to have joined jihadist groups in the Syrian civil war. Nemmouche was known to French counter-terrorism police, who had had him under surveillance since his return from Syria last year.
For some time, western security officials have been worried about the potential threat posed by young men based in Europe who have spent time with al-Qaida linked groups in Syria. Nigel Inkster, a former deputy chief of MI6, now a senior fellow of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Commons home affairs committee in January that while the groups fighting in Syria had no "particular animus" towards the UK, Syria could become "a crucible for a new generation of international jihadists", similar to the anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s, who became a "band of brothers" looking for other fields in which to fight, which could include the UK this time.
Abdullah Deghayes, an 18-year-old from Brighton, died in Syria after going there in defiance of his father, who only learned his child had been killed when he read it on Facebook. William Hague, the foreign secretary, has warned of the extreme dangers faced by Britons in Syria and said fighters returning to Britain were perceived as an "increasing threat to our own national security". "I want anybody who is contemplating going to Syria for any reason to hear that advice very clearly from the British government: do not travel to Syria," said Hague. He added that action could be taken to stop would-be fighters travelling to Syria, including taking away their passports, but only if the authorities knew their intentions.
Concern about returning radicals has prompted western intelligence agencies, including an official representing MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, to open discreet talks with the Syrian government, the BBC reported in January. At the time, François Hollande, the French president, told a press conference that 700 French nationals had joined the ranks of foreigners fighting in Syria. More than 150,000 people are believed to have died in the Syrian conflict and at least nine million have been displaced.
Responding to the news, ODFS Director, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I am horrified by news of this recent attack in Brussels, sadly however it comes as little surprise.
As I have warned against since the beginning of this conflict, foreign nationals who travel to Syria are trained and indoctrinated to commit all kinds of heinous violent acts.
We have already seen over the past year a rise in this type of 'lone wolf' terrorism; it is the deadly consequence of a lack of action by the international community to get a grip on this problem.
There is a simple solution, no foreign fighters must be able to travel to Syria - those that do must be robustly dealt with and held to account for their actions.
More must be done to confront this issue head on."