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Hundreds of ISIS defectors hoping to flee

Hundreds of defectors from the so-called Islamic State have congregated in Syria’s Idlib province, with many hoping to cross the Turkish border and find their way back to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The Guardian said several dozen former fighters have already made it across the frontier to towns and cities in Turkey’s south in recent weeks. Large numbers of militants and their families are trying to leave Syria and Iraq altogether, posing problems to a community that views them as a hostile and unmanageable threat. A Saudi national who fled Syria in August told the Guardian that as many as 300 former IS members had established a community north of Idlib city. He said: “In Idlib, there are around 300 people trying to escape. Many of them are Saudis. Some want to see their families one last time and they say they will accept what’s coming to them. I don’t know any of them who believe in the [Islamic] State. They all ran away for a reason.”

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