Foreign ministers from EU member states addressed Trump's call for European countries to repatriate foreign "Islamic State" fighters captured in Syria. They also discussed the situation in Venezuela and in Yemen.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/F. Seco
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Foreign ministers from the European Union's member states gathered in Brussels on Monday to discuss a wide range of issues.
The most prominent topic was US President Donald Trump's call on Twitter that European countries take back and prosecute their citizens captured in Syria after fighting for the so-called "Islamic State" (IS).
European IS fighters
EU foreign ministers, including Germany's Heiko Maas, pushed back on Trump's Twitter appeal.
"It certainly is not as easy as people in America imagine," Maas said on Monday. His Austrian counterpart, Karin Kneissl, said she couldn't comprehend the call, saying it would be in "nobody's interest" to release foreign fighters who had been captured by the international coalition and Kurdish fighters.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto dismissed the Uidea, saying: "Our major endeavor now should be not to allow them to come back to Europe."
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's foreign minister, criticized Trump for raising the issue on Twitter. "If we want to find a sensible solution, then we have to discuss this and not send tweets back and forth. That does not make sense."
Former 'IsIamic State' militants return home to northern Syria
As Europe, under pressure from US President Donald Trump, seeks solutions to take back its citizens drawn to the "Islamic State" (IS) group, the Shammar tribe in northern Syria is re-integrating former IS members.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
The Shammar tribe
The Shammar tribe's militia, the Al-Sanadid forces, control swathes of land in north-eastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border. Until recently, they were part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and at present the Shammar belong to the Kurdish-led civilian leadership in northern Syria.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Friday prayers
In the compound of Shammar leader Sheikh Humaydi Daham al-Hadi, tribesmen from the surrounding villages attend Friday prayers. Former IS members are also known to be in attendance.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Tribal connections
Former IS members fled the group after hearing the Sheikh’s call to defect. Once accepted by the Sheikh, the detainees are transferred to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), where they are imprisoned and subsequently put on trial. Only then, are they allowed to re-join the tribe.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Tucking in
Guests eat a traditional lamb and rice meal. According to Sheikh Humaydi, the Shammar do not take in former IS fighters. However, the Shammar communications official Abdulhamid Al-Askar contradicted that and claimed Al-Sanadid forces have also incorporated former fighters.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Mediation efforts
In the evening, the Sheikh hosts guests and mediates between local disputes. "This national conflict will end one day, but the religious one will continue," said Sheikh Humaydi. "We have the same goal as the west — the fight against terrorism; now we’re mediating between the former IS fighters, and those who suffered under the group."
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Cross-border tribal network
Shammar tribesmen greet guests from Iraq. "There are those [in Syria] who joined IS only because of pressure from their leaders," said Sheikh Humaydi, "and because we have tribal influence, they come back to us."
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Strict hierarchies
Once they defect, former IS members blend back into the rural and strictly hierarchical society. Shammar leaders, on the other hand, maneuver to position themselves as crucial peacemakers in the region. According to the Sheikh, British and US delegations have recently paid a visit.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Staying incognito
Abu Hassan did not want to reveal his real name for fear of IS reprisals. He claims to have never fought for IS, and only joined the group in 2015 to be able to continue working as a school teacher. "We thought IS would bring justice, as we suffered so much under the [Assad] regime," he said in an interview during which the Sheikh’s son and two Sanadid militiamen were present.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Successful rearguard action
Bandar Humaydi, commander of Al-Sanadid Forces and the son of Sheikh Humeydi, led a successful defense against IS fighters in 2014/15, when their village was almost completely surrounded by advancing IS forces.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Games without frontiers
Shammar youths and under-age Sanadid militiamen play a chaotic game of football; a decrepit train track connecting Syria and Iraq lies abandoned nearby. At present, hundreds of IS members have taken the tribal route out, according to the Sheikh, although the exact numbers are not disclosed.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
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Venezuela
Several EU members reiterated their calls for new elections in Venezuela.
Multiple foreign ministers, including France's Jean-Yves Le Drian and Romania's Teodor Melescanu, said that new elections were the only way out of the political impasse.
On Sunday, the Venezuelan government blocked five members of the European Parliament from entering the country. The European parliamentarians had been invited by Guaido, who said on Twitter that the group was "deported by an isolated and increasingly irrational regime."
The assembled ministers welcomed a ceasefire agreement between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels, which the two parties reached in Stockholm, Sweden in December.
"The EU reaffirms that only a negotiated and inclusive political solution can end the conflict in Yemen," a statement from European Council read.
The council also said that "peace can only be achieved through negotiations involving the meaningful participation of all parties concerned."
Earlier this month, the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels reached a preliminary agreement to move fighters from the port city of Hodeidah, which serves as an entry point for the majority of imports into the country.
