By Anas al-Bar | 2024-07-31

Five years ago, al-Hol camp in al-Hasakeh province, Syria, was massively overcrowded, with over 25,000 Iraqis accounting for half of its population.

Numbers have fallen since mid-2021, however, as Iraq began to implement a plan to repatriate its citizens from the desert camp, which houses the family members of "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) fighters, among others.

To date, about a third of al-Hol residents have been repatriated, with the process proceeding steadily but somewhat slowly, partly due to security restrictions, and a specialized committee examining each file.

Iraqi authorities are working with al-Hol's administration to obtain lists of residents and complete security checks.

Over the past two months, Iraqi delegations made several visits to the camp to check on the conditions of Iraqi residents, and began taking measures to increase the volume of repatriations.

The repatriation process is expected to pick up momentum as a result.

Iraq repatriated about 1,000 people, mostly women and children, on July 6, and additional groups are scheduled to arrive in a few weeks.

Government efforts are intensifying to bring home all Iraqis from the camp before 2026, as Iraq and its allies, including the United States, call on countries around the world to bring their citizens home.

Kyrgyzstan on June 19 repatriated 22 of its citizens -- eight women and 14 children -- from camps in northeastern Syria, its foreign ministry said.

The United States, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other international bodies helped carry out the operation, it added.

More than 500 Kyrgyz citizens have been repatriated since 2021, most of whom need to be rehabilitated before reintegrating into society, AFP reported.

Completing repatriations

Iraq will make a greater effort to complete the repatriation plan in full, Iraqi Deputy Minister of Migration and Displacement Karim al-Nouri told Al-Fassel.

"Al-Hol camp is extremely dangerous to ... Iraq and the region and should be dismantled and closed to prevent the emergence of more vicious terrorist elements," he said.

"Isolation and harsh living conditions inside the camp reinforce feelings of hostility among the displaced, especially children," he said.

"It also provides an incubator environment for the extremist ideology of terrorist groups, which are actively recruiting more violent fighters."

Iraqis who return from al-Hol join the social reintegration preparation program at al-Jadaa Rehabilitation Center, south of Mosul, which has been able to rehabilitate about 3,000 returnees to date, al-Nouri said.