Iraq
A man carries plastic containers at al-Hol camp in the northeastern Al-Hasakah Governorate on July 28, 2024, as families of suspected Islamic State fighters prepare to return to their homes in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is preparing to repatriate 155 families from the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka province housing people with links to the Islamic State (ISIS), a war monitor reported on Saturday, with Baghdad aiming to take back all its nationals by 2027.
“155 Iraqi families from families of the Islamic State organization, consisting of 569 individuals, are preparing to leave al-Hol camp in the countryside of Hasaka towards Iraqi territory and return to their original areas,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
The return process is carried out with joint coordination between the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava and the Iraqi government.
Baghdad is planning to repatriate all its nationals held in camps for people with links to ISIS in northeast Syria per an agreement with the United Nations, Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry said in late January.
According to the latest statistics from the ministry, more than 20,000 Iraqis, including women and children, remain in al-Hol camp.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked people being held at the camp, which has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
The repatriation of ISIS-linked citizens has sparked opposition in Iraq. Some tribes and communities are unwilling to accept people associated with the group that committed heinous human rights abuses and war crimes from 2014 to 2017, when they controlled vast swathes of the country.
Most repatriated individuals are temporarily housed in al-Jada camp in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, to be prepared for reintegration into their communities.
“155 Iraqi families from families of the Islamic State organization, consisting of 569 individuals, are preparing to leave al-Hol camp in the countryside of Hasaka towards Iraqi territory and return to their original areas,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
The return process is carried out with joint coordination between the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava and the Iraqi government.
Baghdad is planning to repatriate all its nationals held in camps for people with links to ISIS in northeast Syria per an agreement with the United Nations, Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry said in late January.
According to the latest statistics from the ministry, more than 20,000 Iraqis, including women and children, remain in al-Hol camp.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked people being held at the camp, which has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
The repatriation of ISIS-linked citizens has sparked opposition in Iraq. Some tribes and communities are unwilling to accept people associated with the group that committed heinous human rights abuses and war crimes from 2014 to 2017, when they controlled vast swathes of the country.
Most repatriated individuals are temporarily housed in al-Jada camp in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, to be prepared for reintegration into their communities.
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