London - British counter-terrorism police chiefs are making an unprecedented appeal to Muslim women to persuade their relatives not to go to Syria to fight. The national campaign for women to intervene follows a string of deaths of UK men who joined Syria's civil war against President Assad's regime. Co-ordinated events are being held in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Critics and campaigners questioned whether the police were trusted enough to get their message across. Security chiefs think hundreds of people have travelled from the UK to fight in Syria, some of whom have returned. Forty people have been arrested over links to Syria this year, police said. And reports suggest up to 20 men from Britain have died in the conflict. Recent deaths have included Crawley father-of-three Abdul Waheed Majeed - who became the first British suicide bomber in the war - and a teenager from Brighton. The number of UK arrests for alleged Syria-related offences during the first three months of the year is almost double those held during the whole of 2013. On Thursday, the events in London, Manchester and Birmingham aim to bring together counter-terrorism police, officials who work on preventing extremism, and women from community groups in an effort to urge people to dissuade would-be jihadists.
The new strategy will see leaflets - to be handed out at ports - spell out the potentially fatal consequences of going to the war-torn country. Speaking at the launch of the project, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, said she wanted women to lead attempts "to challenge the lure of Syria" and the risks that young men who go to the country will return radicalised. (FA)