France repatriates 35 children and 16 mothers detained in camps in Syria

The operation was held discreetly in a camp for displaced people in northeastern Syria. The French authorities had a list of names: children and wives of jihadist fighters. A total of 35 minors and 16 mothers aged 22 to 39 were repatriated to France on Tuesday July 5. Among these mothers, there is Émilie König, 37, from Lorient (Morbihan). France Télévisions met her last year in Syria. Left in 2012, she is accused of having recruited for the Islamic State group. In a propaganda video, we see her gun in hand.

On the evening of July 5, Émilie König was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention. This repatriation of mothers is a first. Until now, France repatriated children bit by bit and on a case-by-case basis. A doctrine that was not unanimous. The 35 repatriated children are in addition to 126 others already transferred to France since 2016. To date, there are still more than 160 minors and around sixty mothers in the Syrian camps.