Statelessness and lack of lineage in Syria after 2011 | Marriage to foreign fighters F oreign fighters began to enter Syria in mid-summer 2012 as the peaceful movement transformed into an armed conflict, and some Syrian cities were out of the regime’s control, fighter groups from several Arab and European countries joined3 tthe fight alongside Islamic organizations (ISIS - Jabhat Al-Nusra). Other groups also joined the fight alongside the Syrian regime4, while some groups fought with Kurdish forces (SDF). According to many reports and researches, the number of foreign fighters, who came to fight in Syria alongside the Islamic organizations, were estimated at 11,000 until the end of 20135. This number has increased during the following years, but there are no clear figures that show the actual number. 19 The presence of foreign fighters of different nationalities in Syria has left many negative effects on Syrian society, and their marriage to Syrian women and girls is considered the worst. Especially with the repercussions that await children of unknown parentage, the fighters’ refraining from telling their true lineage and being satisfied with pseudonyms, this placed Syrian women before long-term societal and legal challenges, particularly after the fighters returned to their countries, were killed in battle, or moved to other cities, leaving behind their wives and children. 3 4 5 6 ICSR- Foreign fighter total in Syria/Iraq now exceeds 20,000, By Peter R. Neumann THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE- How Iran Is Building Its Syrian Hezbollah- Phillip Smyth The Telegraph- Number of foreign fighters in Syria nearly doubles- Alex Spilliu 37th session of the Human Rights Council- 2018 ( I lost my dignity) Report HUMANS WITHOUT RIGHTS According to the Human Rights Council report issued on March 23, 2018 entitled “I lost my dignity”, the Islamic State organization forced women and girls to marry foreign fighters as a means of proving its control in areas under its nfluence6: “The organization views unmarried women and girls over the age of puberty as a threat, due to its belief and its forced social system”. The report also indicated that many women were forced to marry fighters, but girls between the ages of 12 and 16 make up the majority of forcibly married documented cases.