The ISD warned it should take agency motion in opposition to those that intend to have interaction in armed violence in Singapore or overseas.
It was responding to CNA’s question final week on whether or not terrorist teams may reap the benefits of the present state of affairs in Syria to broaden their attain, together with in Southeast Asia and Singapore.
On Dec 8, rebels from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took management of the capital Damascus and different essential Syrian cities. After midnight, information emerged Assad had fled the nation for Russia.
The autumn of Assad marked the start of the tip of Syria’s 13-year battle which claimed over 580,000 lives and displaced 12 million others.
HTS denies it nonetheless has hyperlinks with any terror community, however many international locations and the UN Safety Council have continued to designate the group as a terrorist organisation.
Within the wake of Assad’s ouster, analysts instructed CNA Southeast Asian authorities have to be vigilant.
That mentioned, some consultants seen the chance of a brand new wave of extremism in Southeast Asia as being comparatively low presently.
The ISD warned it could act in opposition to these intending to have interaction in armed violence in Singapore or overseas.
“We is not going to hesitate to take agency actions in opposition to any particular person who helps, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to have interaction in armed violence, be it in Singapore or abroad,” a spokesperson mentioned.
The ISD has detained radicalised Singaporeans up to now who meant to journey to Syria to have interaction in armed violence.
In October, a 17-year-old Singaporean scholar was arrested lower than a month earlier than his plan to hold out a terror assault in Singapore’s heartlands. The teenager additionally meant to journey to Syria to affix the Islamic State and interact in armed violence.
In July, Legislation and Dwelling Affairs Minister Ok Shanmugam mentioned two Singaporeans had been issued restriction orders for supporting terrorism and armed violence. They turned radicalised after Hamas’ assault on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
One was a 14-year-old boy – the youngest particular person ever within the nation to be issued the restriction order underneath the Inside Safety Act (ISA) – whereas the opposite was a 33-year-old girl who was a supervisor with a statutory board.
In February final yr, the ISD mentioned an 18-year-old Singaporean IS supporter was detained in December 2022 after he thought of attacking targets together with a military camp and a gravesite at a mosque in Singapore. The coed had additionally meant to journey abroad, together with to Syria, to take part in armed violence.
Two different youngsters who had been on-line contacts of the coed had been additionally issued ISA orders for terrorism-related actions.
The ISD urged the general public to stay vigilant to indicators that the individuals round them could have turn into radicalised, and report them to the authorities. Doable indicators of radicalisation embrace posting or sharing extremist views on social media, and expressing help or admiration for terrorists or terrorist teams, in addition to the usage of violence.
Anybody who is aware of or suspects that an individual has been radicalised ought to contact ISD’s hotline at 1800 2626 473 (1800-2626-ISD), the spokesperson added.
