Singapore arrests four extremists for involvement in armed conflicts
Four Singaporean men, aged 23-53, have been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for engaging in overseas armed conflicts, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on March 16.
Mohammad Razif Yahya, 27, and Amiruddin Sawir, 53, were both detained in August last year for voluntarily participating in the sectarian conflict in Yemen.
According to the MHA, the two commenced religious studies in an institution in Yemen and volunteered to do armed sentry duties at the institution against any incursion by the Houthis, who have been fighting the Yemeni government since 2014.
“Razif and Amiruddin were prepared to kill and be killed as ‘martyrs’ in the sectarian conflict in Yemen. By taking up arms in Yemen, they have demonstrated a readiness to use violence to pursue their religious cause”, the ministry stated.
“As such, they are assessed a security threat to Singapore”, the statement noted.
A third man, Mohamed Mohamed Mohideen Jais, 25, also performed armed sentry duties in Yemen, while the fourth, Wang Yuandongyi, 23, was arrested in a third country, from where he intended to travel to Turkey and Syria to join a Kurdish militia group that is fighting against the terrorist group Islamic State, it added.
The Singaporean government takes a stern view against anyone who supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, the statement stressed.
According to the MHA, the two commenced religious studies in an institution in Yemen and volunteered to do armed sentry duties at the institution against any incursion by the Houthis, who have been fighting the Yemeni government since 2014.
“Razif and Amiruddin were prepared to kill and be killed as ‘martyrs’ in the sectarian conflict in Yemen. By taking up arms in Yemen, they have demonstrated a readiness to use violence to pursue their religious cause”, the ministry stated.
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A third man, Mohamed Mohamed Mohideen Jais, 25, also performed armed sentry duties in Yemen, while the fourth, Wang Yuandongyi, 23, was arrested in a third country, from where he intended to travel to Turkey and Syria to join a Kurdish militia group that is fighting against the terrorist group Islamic State, it added.
The Singaporean government takes a stern view against anyone who supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, the statement stressed.
