Al-Hol camp is a threat to Iraq's security: Iraqi National Security Adviser

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s National Security Adviser, said on Saturday that he considered the Al-Hol camp in Syria dangerous for the safety of Iraq.

In a speech during a panel discussion in Baghdad, Al-Araji stated that the camp, in which thousands of prisoners are held, is "a real threat to Iraqi national security."

"We do not want the al-Hol camp to remain for long," he added.

He pointed out that Iraq has repatriated 450 families from the al-Hol camp, and that they have been transferred to the al-Jada'a camp, south of Mosul, for "psychological rehabilitation under the auspices of the United Nations."

Al-Araji added, "There is a decision by the Iraqi government in the coming months to receive more Iraqi families living in the al-Hol camp."

He explained that the al-Hol camp holds 30,000 Iraqis, 20,000 of whom are under the age of 18. 

More than 56,000 people live in the camp. The residents are suspected of being affiliated with ISIS. 

Besides Iraqis, there are a number of other foreign citizens who live in the camps, including Europeans, but their home countries refuse to repatriate them.

The UN has voiced concerns about radicalization in the camp due to the continued presence of terrorist sympathizers.