UNAMI should visit al-Hol camp: Iraqi National Security Advisor

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said on Thursday that it is in the interest of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) to visit al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria and assess the dire situation there firsthand, according to a statement.

The remark came during a meeting between Al-Araji and the head of UNAMI, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who hailed Iraq’s repatriation of more than 1,800 of its nationals from the camp according to a statement from Al-Araji’s office.

Al-Hol is home to the women and children of suspected ISIS fighters. 

Hennis-Plasschaert said that Iraq is an “example” that should be followed by other countries whose nationals are still in the camp. 

In mid-February, in her speech in front of the UN Security Council, the UNAMI chief similarly underlined Iraq’s efforts to repatriate its citizens from the camp. The situation in al-Hol is deteriorating with the children there highly exposed to extremist ideologies. 

For his part, al-Araji underscored the importance of the international community to become involved in the matters of the camp.

“It is in interest in the UNAMI to visit the camp,” and closely follow the situation on the ground, the Iraqi official said. 

There are at least 58,000 people currently in al-Hol, almost half of them Iraqis. 

Besides Iraqis, the camp’s residents include foreign nationals whose countries are unwilling to repatriate them for various reasons.