Foreign

By Kennedy Nnamani

AMBASSADOR Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Senior Advisor for Special Political Affairs to President Biden has related his remark on the Secretary-General’s report on the threat posed by ISIS at a UN Security Council briefing

He stated that the US troops in Syria have conducted an operation against ISIS on the order of President Biden.

He stated that ISIS and those it inspires continue to engage in heinous attacks wherever and however they can, noting that the group attempts to exploit humanitarian crises, and recruit and radicalize to violent members of vulnerable populations and attack civilians.

Reckoning with the Secretary-General’s characterization of the human tragedy resulting from ISIS “caliphate” and condemning it, he noted that this include approximately 40,000 foreign nationals, including tens of thousands of innocent children, currently residing in displaced persons camps who should not be further victimized because of the activities of others.

“This situation is unacceptable, and is a humanitarian, human rights, and security crisis. That is why the repatriation, rehabilitation, reintegration, and prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters, as appropriate, is the best way to hold individuals accountable for their crimes and prevent the uncontrolled return or movement of foreign terrorist fighters to their countries of origin or elsewhere,” he said.

While calling on countries to repatriate their citizens, DeLaurentis disclosed that the US has repatriated 30 of their nationals

“We are not just calling on others to repatriate their citizens; we are repatriating our own as well. To date, we have repatriated 30 US citizens from northeast Syria: 13 adults and 17 children. The United States stands ready to support any member state that wishes to bring their own nationals home,” he noted.

While expressing concern, DeLaurentis noted that the US must strengthen efforts to go after terrorist financiers and financial facilitators, especially in areas of Africa outlined in the Secretary-General’s assessment with increasing terrorism threat. He also noted that ISIS and al-Qa’ida affiliates have metastasized in pockets across Africa and grafted onto long-simmering conflicts, providing them new volatility and lethality.

“The United States continues to provide our African partners critical counterterrorism assistance to disrupt and degrade ISIS and al-Qa’ida affiliates,” he said.

Therefore, he called on joint efforts to continue to maintain pressure on the terrorist so as not to deprive them of a safe haven for their operations.

“The Secretary-General’s report provides a vivid reminder of the continuing and evolving ISIS threat. Moving forward, we must use this report to shape the collective actions we take to maintain pressure on ISIS,” he said.

KN

Tags: Jeffrey DeLaurentis Kennedy Nnamani President Biden