In March 2019, Morocco repatriated eight of its nationals who had fought for ISIS in Syria. Since then, several families have urged the Moroccan authorities to repatriate of women and their children stuck in the region. A group created by the families of Moroccan nationals who fought for ISIS in Syria and Iraq has called for the intervention of King Mohammed VI to see their loved ones repatriated to Morocco. While welcoming the royal pardon granted on January 11 to women accused of terrorism, the NGO's executive office hoped that its members would be able to benefit from the same measure. It recalled, in a press release, that Moroccan «children and mothers live in deplorable conditions (...) they are deprived of the basic conditions of a dignified life». In its request, the body did not forget to defend these young people who joined the terrorist group and fought within the ranks of the terrorist organization. Henceforth, «they express their sincere regrets, their attachment to the constants of the nation and reject all forms of violence as well as their commitments to turn the page on the past with all its disadvantages», the group concluded. Morocco has already repatriated eight of its nationals Since its creation in October 2019, the NGO has launched a communication campaign for the repatriation of Moroccans detained in Iraq and Syria. Morocco has indeed responded to its calls, allowing the return of women and their children from conflict zones. «They did not go there to fight, but limited themselves to accompanying their husbands. Therefore, we have nothing to blame them for», the director of Morocco's Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations Abdelhak Khiame said in a press briefing. He also revealed that 280 women and 391 children are stranded in Syria. These numbers are close to those published by the same group, which reported that 250 women and 270 minors as well as around 180 young people are trapped in refugee camps in northern Syria after the retreat of ISIS. This call comes as Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) MP Abdellatif Ouahbi asked in January for the creation of a parliamentary commission, which, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will visit Moroccan citizens stranded in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. In a letter sent to the president of the Justice and Legislation Commission at the House of Representatives, Abdellatif Ouahbi stressed that «the state is fully responsible for thesenationals' security and their reintegration into the national educational system». For the record, almost a year ago and in response to an appeal by the Donald Trump administration to members of the International Coalition against ISIS, Morocco had repatriated 8 of its nationals detained in Syria for terrorism.
