Syria
Buses transporting Iraqi families from the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) back to Iraq on July 31, 2025. Photo: DAANES
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 230 Iraqi families left the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) housing people with links to the Islamic State (ISIS) back for Iraq, the Kurdish-led Rojava administration said on Thursday.
“The al-Hol camp administration on Thursday evacuated 233 Iraqi families (812 individuals) in coordination between the [US-led] international coalition forces, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria [DAANES], and the Iraqi government,” the Rojava administration said in a statement.
The latest repatriations marked the 28th batch of Iraqis to leave the camp, headed to the al-Jada camp in the northern Nineveh province for rehabilitation, according to DAANES.
“More people wishing to leave the camps in north and east Syria will be repatriated in the coming period,” it added.
Thousands of individuals with suspected ISIS ties are held in al-Hol and Roj camps, both located in Rojava’s Hasaka province and controlled by the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Al-Hol is the larger of the two, housing over 28,000 people as of Thursday. Of these, 6,654 were Iraqis, 15,364 Syrians, and 6,401 foreigners, Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises the camps in Rojava, told Rudaw English on Thursday.
Al-Hol has become notorious for its poor conditions and has been described as a breeding ground for terrorism. Since ISIS’s territorial defeat in 2019, tens of thousands of people linked to the group - mostly Iraqis and Syrians - have been held there, alongside others from across the world who traveled to join the jihadists’ so-called caliphate.
Iraq has been repatriating its citizens from the camps in groups and providing rehabilitation, and is planning to host a conference in Geneva in September to encourage more countries to follow suit.
Many other countries, however, remain reluctant to take back their nationals over fears of extremist ideology spreading at home.
Baghdad has set a goal of repatriating all Iraqi citizens from camps in Rojava by 2027.
“The al-Hol camp administration on Thursday evacuated 233 Iraqi families (812 individuals) in coordination between the [US-led] international coalition forces, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria [DAANES], and the Iraqi government,” the Rojava administration said in a statement.
The latest repatriations marked the 28th batch of Iraqis to leave the camp, headed to the al-Jada camp in the northern Nineveh province for rehabilitation, according to DAANES.
“More people wishing to leave the camps in north and east Syria will be repatriated in the coming period,” it added.
Thousands of individuals with suspected ISIS ties are held in al-Hol and Roj camps, both located in Rojava’s Hasaka province and controlled by the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Al-Hol is the larger of the two, housing over 28,000 people as of Thursday. Of these, 6,654 were Iraqis, 15,364 Syrians, and 6,401 foreigners, Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises the camps in Rojava, told Rudaw English on Thursday.
Iraq has been repatriating its citizens from the camps in groups and providing rehabilitation, and is planning to host a conference in Geneva in September to encourage more countries to follow suit.
Many other countries, however, remain reluctant to take back their nationals over fears of extremist ideology spreading at home.
Baghdad has set a goal of repatriating all Iraqi citizens from camps in Rojava by 2027.
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