The ISD warned it should take agency motion in opposition to those that intend to interact in armed violence in Singapore or overseas.
It was responding to CNA’s question final week on whether or not terrorist teams may make the most of the present scenario in Syria to develop their attain, together with in Southeast Asia and Singapore.
On Dec 7, rebels from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took management of the capital Damascus and different necessary 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 nations and the UN Safety Council have continued to designate the group as a terrorist organisation.
Within the wake of Assad’s ouster, analysts advised CNA Southeast Asian authorities should be vigilant.
That stated, some consultants seen the danger of a brand new wave of extremism in Southeast Asia as being comparatively low presently.
The ISD warned it will act in opposition to these intending to interact in armed violence in Singapore or overseas.
“We won’t hesitate to take agency actions in opposition to any particular person who helps, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to interact in armed violence, be it in Singapore or abroad,” a spokesperson stated.
The ISD has detained radicalised Singaporeans previously who supposed to journey to Syria to interact in armed violence.
In October, a 17-year-old Singaporean student was arrested lower than a month earlier than his plan to hold out a terror assault in Singapore’s heartlands. The teenager additionally supposed to journey to Syria to hitch the Islamic State and have interaction in armed violence.
In July, Legislation and Residence Affairs Minister Okay Shanmugam stated 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 individual ever within the nation to be issued the restriction order below the Inner Safety Act (ISA) – whereas the opposite was a 33-year-old lady who was a supervisor with a statutory board.
In February final yr, the ISD stated an 18-year-old Singaporean IS supporter was detained in December 2022 after he thought-about attacking targets together with a military camp and a gravesite at a mosque in Singapore. The scholar had additionally supposed to journey abroad, together with to Syria, to take part in armed violence.
Two other teenagers who had been on-line contacts of the scholar 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 might have change into radicalised, and report them to the authorities. Doable indicators of radicalisation embody posting or sharing extremist views on social media, and expressing assist 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.