Two Frenchwomen linked to the Islamic State group held by Kurdish forces in Syria are seriously sick and need urgent repatriation, the Kurdish Red Crescent said Thursday.

One woman, aged 32 and with four children, is reported to have colon cancer, while the other also in her thirties has diabetes and needs regular dialysis.

The conditions of the two women, both held at the Roj camp in northeastern Syria, are "critical", Kurdish Red Crescent member Perwin Ibrahim told AFP.

"Their country should take them back for them to be treated there," Ibrahim added.

The woman with cancer has refused an urgent operation in Syria.

"She's scared she'll die during the operation" without having secured a safe future for her children, Ibrahim said.

The woman sparked media attention in France last month after her mother went on hunger strike to demand her daughter and grandchildren be brought back.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on France to take "necessary measures" to treat her.

Syria's Kurds hold thousands of foreigners in their custody after they expelled the jihadists from their last patch of Syrian territory in March 2019 with Western support.

They have repeatedly called on Western nations to repatriate the foreigners in their camps and jails. Most have been reluctant.

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