Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises Rojava's camps for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), told Rudaw that the population of the notorious al-Hol camp has dropped to 25,183, adding that 14,920 of them are Syrians. Rojava and Damascus had agreed to facilitate their return to their homes, but Ahmed claimed that the transitional government is not cooperating.
The camp’s population was initially around 60,000.
“Those people are from areas under the control of the transitional government, and there is no coordination between us and the government for removing Syrian families. We asked the transitional government to assist in this matter, but received no response,” Ahmed said.
Hol camp, located in the vicinity of Hasaka city, is infamous for its squalid conditions and has frequently been described as a breeding ground for extremism.
In January, one month after the fall of Bashar al-Asaad’s regime, Rojava authorities announced that Syrians held in al-Hol camp can return to their homes.
“We open the door for the voluntary return of Syrians in al-Hol camp to their areas with full support,” read a statement from the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), which administers Rojava.
In addition to Syrians, 3,988 Iraqis and 6,284 people from many countries are held in the camp, according to the latest figure provided by Rojava’s Ahmed on Sunday.
Kurdish officials in Rojava have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their nationals. Iraq has been praised for its ongoing efforts to repatriate nationals from the camp.
Ahmed also said that Iraq is repatriating another batch of nationals from al-Hol on Monday without specifying their number.
Roj is another refugee and IDP camp in Rojava. It houses families considered less dangerous than those held at al-Hol.
According to figures provided by Ahmed, Roj camp’s population is 2,294, of whom 55 are Syrians, 75 Iraqis and the rest from other countries.
Nushin Heme contributed to this article from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.