The security services have a view of dozens of proven jihadists in Syria, men and women alike, who left to fight from Belgium. Some are at liberty. Others, detained. But the situation could change quickly in this country in full restructuring.
On a scale of 1 to 4, OCAM, the coordinating body for threat analysis, assesses the risk currently running in Belgium at 3including that of a terrorist attack. A level of threat considered “serious”, and which increasingly regular international upheavals continue to fuel.
Recently, the fall of the Assad regime to the benefit of the HTC group (for Hayat Tahrir al-Cham, or Levant Liberation Organizationan Islamist organization whose members once applauded the attacks committed in France and Belgium by the Islamic State), unsurprisingly attracts the attention of Western security services — Belgians included. And for good reason: now that the lead weight that the regime placed on the population has melted, we are worried about what will become of openly Islamist fighters and linked to Belgium.
Men and women
OCAM had already identified, in north-west Syria, before the start of the offensivearound thirty “FTF” (for foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist fighters of foreign origin, in this case from Belgium, which does not mean that they have Belgian nationality). On this set, around ten would be active within HTS“without their precise, possibly combative, function being known”.
To the northeast, at least thirteen men and eight women stamped “FTF” are detained in detention centers, again according to OCAM, which also counts a ten children (a priori we are talking about nine minors).
Questioned about Belgians possibly released after the fall of the regime, State Security sticks to the OCAM figures, specifying that the “FDF” detained in the north-east are under the control of Kurdish forces — the prisons are not open, but that could change in the coming weeks.
In the northwest, on the Idlib side, where the HTC offensive began at the beginning of December, the Security has more or less identified 24 “FDF” fighters (men and women) including a handful (between five and ten) would have direct links with HTC. Dozens of minors (at least 48)would also have been identified. Figures to be taken with caution, given the ongoing instability in the region and the rest of the country.
Which explains in passing that Belgium, in tune with its European alliestries to find optimal conditions for monitoring “its” jihadists. This Friday, we noted the presence in Damascus, on behalf of the EU, of the French and German Ministers of Foreign Affairs, concerned with “reach out” to the new masters of Damascus. This Thursday, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Quintin (MR)was for his part in Türkiye, pleading with his counterpart so that the security of the camps where these jihadists are imprisoned is ensureduntil the next federal government decides on the fate of these “FTFs”, as well as minors linked to Belgium.
Finally, at the end of December, a Belgian emissary, accompanied by the ambassador in Beirut (Lebanon)had been sent to Damascus, in order to sound out the new authorities about their intentions. The news was intended to be reassuring, with HTC clearly not in a hurry to be suddenly upset in the country, displaying a desire for “national reconciliation”. However, no details were filtered regarding the fate of jihadists (imprisoned or free) and linked directly or indirectly to Belgium.
