Iraq Repatriates 19,000 Citizens from Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In an effort to dismantle one of the most pressing security and humanitarian challenges in the post-ISIS era, the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displaced has announced the successful repatriation of 19,000 of its citizens from the notorious Al-Hol camp in Syria.

This large-scale operation, carried out in planned stages since 2021, represents a comprehensive approach by the Iraqi government to not only bring its nationals home but to actively manage their complex reintegration into society through a detailed and multi-faceted rehabilitation program, a strategy officials say has been crucial in preventing social friction and mitigating the long-term threat of extremist ideology.

The ministry revealed that the thousands of returnees are comprised of women, children, youth, and the elderly who had been stranded in the sprawling, SDF-guarded camp in northeastern Syria.

Ali Abbas, the ministry's spokesperson, confirmed on Sunday that the process of transferring these families has been carried out in 29 separate operations, representing a consistent and determined government policy.

"This step was taken in coordination with the National Security Advisor, the Joint Operations Command, and international organizations," Abbas stated, providing a glimpse into the high-level inter-agency cooperation required for such a sensitive undertaking.

He also provided updated figures on the scale of the challenge, noting that initial statistics had placed the number of Iraqi citizens in Al-Hol at approximately 31,500.

This latest announcement marks a significant increase from figures released in August 2025, when the ministry reported that over 17,000 individuals had been repatriated, with 11,000 of them undergoing rehabilitation. At that time, the ministry had stated its intention to bring back more than 6,000 additional citizens, a goal that the new total of 19,000 returnees shows is well underway.

A part of the Iraqi strategy, as detailed by the ministry spokesperson, is a systematic process of screening and rehabilitation that begins the moment the returnees cross back into Iraqi territory.

Upon their return, and after undergoing a thorough security screening, the individuals are transferred to a specialized facility known as the "Amal Center." It is here that the critical work of de-radicalization and psychological support begins.

At the Amal Center, the returnees are assessed and categorized using a preliminary form designed to determine the level to which they have been influenced by extremist ideology during their time in the camp.

This initial assessment is crucial, as it allows for the implementation of tailored rehabilitation programs designed to address the specific needs of different age groups, including children, youth, and women. "Special rehabilitation programs are implemented for each different age group," Abbas clarified, highlighting the nuanced approach being taken.

The scope of this rehabilitation effort is extensive. The spokesperson reiterated that a total of 78 different rehabilitation programs have been implemented so far. This complex and vital work is not carried out in isolation but is managed through a broad coalition of government institutions, Iraqi academic bodies such as the universities of Baghdad and Nineveh, and various international organizations.

The Iraqi Ministry stated that the day-to-day intellectual and psychological preparation of the returnees is overseen by dedicated teams of psychological specialists and specially trained security officers, ensuring a blend of therapeutic and security-conscious oversight.

Crucially, the ministry has placed a strong emphasis on the social dimension of reintegration, actively working to prevent conflict between the returning families and the local communities they are re-entering. "One of the most prominent points of success of this process has been the prevention of any kind of clash and tension between the returnees and the local population," Abbas said.

He attributed this success to the implementation of national reconciliation programs designed to foster understanding and heal the deep wounds left by the ISIS conflict. This proactive approach to community relations has been a key factor in what officials have described as a successful reintegration process.

Karim Nouri, the Deputy Minister of the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displaced, had previously hailed the initiative as a "positive sign," stating, "We have been successful in reintegrating them into society."

The Al-Hol camp, located in Syria's Hasakah province and administered by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), has long been a source of grave international concern.

At its peak in 2019, the camp held a staggering 74,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom are women and children from dozens of different countries, though a significant portion are of Iraqi and Syrian origin.

The camp's volatile and overcrowded conditions have led both the United Nations and the US Central Command to issue repeated and stark warnings about its potential to serve as an incubator for the next generation of extremists.

A key security threat identified in these warnings has been the environment within the camp, where children are reportedly being indoctrinated with extremist ideology by their mothers, creating a dangerous breeding ground for future security threats that could destabilize the entire region.

Iraq's initiative to repatriate and rehabilitate its citizens is a direct and tangible response to these international security warnings, representing a crucial effort to break the cycle of radicalization.

A Collision of Rehabilitation and Accountability

However, as thousands of these individuals, many of whom are family members of ISIS terrorists, are brought back into the Iraqi state, the laudable effort of repatriation now exists in the shadow of a new legal reality: the highly controversial general amnesty law passed by the Iraqi Parliament in late January. 

The law's passage has crystallized the fears of victim communities, transforming a contentious debate into a deeply troubling reality. The government's focus on reintegration now directly collides with the demands for justice for the countless victims of ISIS's reign of terror, raising profound questions about whether national reconciliation is being pursued at the expense of legal accountability.

This tension is most sharply felt by the Yazidi community, which endured a systematic and brutal genocide at the hands of ISIS in 2014. For them, the return of thousands of ISIS-affiliated families is not just a security concern but an existential issue tied to unhealed wounds.

With more than 2,500 Yazidis still missing and over 200,000 languishing in displacement camps, the amnesty law is seen as a profound source of concern. As the legislation was being debated, Yazidi leaders were unequivocal in their opposition.

Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi Kurdish member of the Iraqi Parliament, warned that the law would absolve numerous terrorists and could even "exonerate those complicit in the genocide against the Yazidi community." Fellow MP Mahma Khalil described it as a "grave injustice to the victims of terrorism and their families, while simultaneously honoring terrorists."

Now that the law is passed, these warnings have become the framework for deep-seated fears about its implementation.

This brings the core dilemma of the Al-Hol repatriation program into sharp focus: what is the legal status of the 19,000 individuals who have been returned? While many are children who are themselves victims, the status of the women and older youths is far more ambiguous.

Are they simply passive family members, or were some of them active participants or enablers in the caliphate's atrocities, including the enslavement and murder of Yazidis? The government's rehabilitation program, with its focus on psychological de-radicalization, does not publicly address the question of legal culpability.

The concern among victim communities is that the state-sponsored pardon, now enshrined in law, provides a direct legal pathway for individuals who may bear criminal responsibility for their actions to be absolved.

The government's celebration of preventing "clashes and tension" with local populations, while a laudable goal for social stability, could be interpreted by victims as a policy that prioritizes social peace over legal justice.

With the amnesty law in effect, the crucial question is how the state will distinguish between a passive family member and a complicit individual. How will the "thorough security screening" intersect with the provisions of the new law? Does successful completion of a rehabilitation program at the "Amal Center" have any bearing on a person's eligibility for amnesty?

The challenge is immense. MP Mahma Khalil has stated that after discussions with the Federal Court, it was confirmed that the amnesty would not apply to those who participated in Yazidi massacres. This assurance is a critical firewall against total impunity, yet its practical application is fraught with difficulty.

Proving an individual's direct complicity in genocide, especially in cases of women who may have been enablers rather than combatants, is an enormous evidentiary challenge. The risk is that the amnesty becomes a de facto pardon for many guilty individuals simply because the state lacks the specific evidence to exclude them from its provisions.

The international community continues to urge the Iraqi government to ensure justice is not compromised.

As the repatriation program progresses under this new legal framework, its ultimate success will be measured not only by the number of people returned and the absence of social conflict, but by whether it can coexist with a transparent and unwavering commitment to holding perpetrators of genocide and other serious crimes accountable. 

The balance between reconciliation and justice has been fundamentally altered by the passage of the amnesty law, and for the victims of ISIS, the fear remains that the scales have been tipped dangerously away from accountability.