Tunisia has received four women and five children from the Libyan authorities on Friday. They are the wives and children of ISIS fighters who were fighting in Libya. Mustafa Al-Kabir, the head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed the news and said that the handover took place at the Ras Jedir border crossing. This is not the first time that Tunisia has received such individuals, as six children were received in 2020, and another group of children was retrieved from Libya and the Syrian-Turkish border.
According to Al-Kabir, the women who were handed over to Tunisia had already been acquitted by the Libyan judiciary. The Tunisian security units are currently reviewing their cases, and the final decision will be made by the Tunisian judiciary. Al-Kabir also revealed that there are still around 15 Tunisian women in Libyan prisons, with sentences ranging from 6 to 16 years, along with a group of children.
The issue of ISIS fighters and their families has been a contentious one for many countries, with concerns over the potential security risks posed by their return. Tunisia has been working to repatriate its citizens who joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq and has been receiving those who were detained in Libya as well.