Human rights group alleges widespread torture, abuse of detainees accused of IS affiliation in Syria

By ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Amnesty International says it has documented widespread abuses, including torture and deprivation of medical care, in detention facilities holding thousands of suspected Islamic State members and their relatives in northeast Syria. The centers and camps hold about 56,000 people, the majority of them children and teens. They are run by local authorities affiliated with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Amnesty says the U.S. is also responsible for the alleged violations because it played a key role in establishing  and maintaining the detention system. Many countries whose citizens traveled to Syria to join IS have been reluctant to repatriate them.