ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 220 Iraqi families held in the Kurdish region of northeast Syria (Rojava) for alleged Islamic State (ISIS) will be repatriated on Monday, the spokesperson for Iraq’s migration ministry announced on Sunday.
“A new group is scheduled to arrive from Syria’s al-Hol camp to Iraq on Monday comprising 222 families,” Ali Jahangir, spokesperson for the ministry, told Rudaw, adding that the group includes more than 800 individuals.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises all IDP and refugee camps in Rojava, confirmed to Rudaw English that Iraq is repatriating a new batch of nationals. He said the group comprises 230 families (840 individuals).
Al-Hol, which holds nearly 25,000 people with alleged ISIS ties, is located in Hasaka province and has long been notorious for dire living conditions and the presence of radicalized individuals, earning a reputation as a potential incubator for extremism. Iraqis and Syrians constitute the majority of its residents, though thousands of people from other countries who joined ISIS or lived under its rule also remain in the camp.
The camp previously housed around 60,000 people.
The latest batch of Iraqi, comprising around 240 families (around 850 individuals), was repatriated earlier this month.
Regarding the total number of Iraqis who have returned from al-Hol camp, Jahangir stated that the figure “has reached approximately 21,000 Iraqi citizens.”
Iraqis returning from al-Hol are transferred to al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh province for rehabilitation before being reintegrated into society.
Despite international pressure, several governments continue to resist taking back their citizens over security concerns.
Baghdad has reached an agreement with the United Nations ensuring that no Iraqi families will remain in al-Hol by 2027, with all expected to be returned through staged repatriations.
In September, Iraq hosted a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York to advance plans to empty and dismantle al-Hol. The gathering resulted in the creation of a US-led joint task cell to accelerate the repatriation of foreign nationals.
Mushtaq Ramadhan contributed to this article.