RCMP plans for returning fighters
FORCE PREPARED FOR CHALLENGES POSED BY ‘FLOOD’ OF RETURNEES FROM IRAQ, SYRIA
Foreseeing a possible “flood of foreign fighters” from Syria, the RCMP has circulated a strategy that involves trying to understand the returning fighters’ intentions and working with communities.
The plan calls for monitoring the social media activity of the returnees, placing them on the no-fly list and asking Passport Canada to revoke their travel documents and flag their future passport applications.
The RCMP has also compiled a list of indicators to ascertain the “future posture” of returning fighters that includes whether they are employed, married, “raising funds linked to a little-known charity” or “proselytizing.”
The “range of responses” for dealing with returnees who have received terrorist training abroad or taken part in foreign conflicts is outlined in a report obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act.
“Amongst other things, the force must also determine whether they are radicalized and intent on committing crimes, including terrorist acts,” said the report, Foreign Fighters: Preventing the Security Threat in Canada and Abroad.
The document, which the RCMP provided to federal officials who drafted the 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada, was released amid concerns about fleeing combatants after Iraqi and Kurdish forces attacked Mosul.
Many of the estimated 30,000 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq are believed to be based in Mosul and Raqqa, strongholds of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Europe in particular is bracing for the return of foreign fighters as the territory under ISIL control shrinks.
According to figures already disclosed by the federal government, about 60 returnees are now back in Canada. But another 180 Canadians active in terrorism remain overseas, including about 100 in Syria and Iraq, the government has said.
A victory by the regime forces in Syria could trigger an exodus of foreign fighters from the region, according to the RCMP report, which said the scenario “would pose an immediate security challenge.”
“It will be important to enlist the assistance of community engagement specialists as soon as possible once law enforcement becomes aware of a returnee,” it said.
“They may have a role to play in conducting the basic assessment of indicators noted above, and certainly would assist the returnee in engaging with supportive community resources, including those who would help steer the individual away from criminal activities associated with terrorism.”
Asked how the RCMP was preparing for the return of foreign fighters in light of the Mosul offensive, Staff Sgt. Julie Gagnon said the police force was “taking active measures through its criminal investigations.”
Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, said the government used a number of tools to deal with foreign fighters, including revoking passports, the no-fly list and criminal charges.
The report said police may act on information about returnees it receives from foreign partners, but also warned about the pitfalls.
“The RCMP should be wary of utilizing information about subject X when it has been provided by a country’s law enforcement forces that are known to use torture, unreasonable detention, or lack of due process,” it said.
Previous foreign conflicts in places like Afghanistan and Bosnia have shown the threat of returning combatants, who have been involved in terrorist fundraising, recruitment, radicalization, buying weapons and planning attacks.
“In the worse-case scenario, one or more of those returnees with terrorist and/or combat experience may target elements of Canadian society. They may use Canada as a base for targeting others, including the United States,” the report said.