403 Iraqis and 50 detainees repatriated from Syria’s al-Hol camp: RIC
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A total of 403 Iraqis, along with 50 male detainees, were repatriated from Syria’s notorious al-Hol camp in the northeastern Hasakah province on Saturday, the Syria-based Rojava Information Center (RIC) reported on Sunday.
“Yesterday, 403 Iraqis from al-Hol camp were repatriated, together with 50 male detainees who were transferred from SDF custody directly to Iraqi security forces,” RIC tweeted. “540 Iraqi al-Hol families (around 2150 individuals) have been repatriated so far, 207 in 2022 alone.”
Yesterday, 403 Iraqis from al-Hol camp were repatriated, together with 50 male detainees who were transferred from SDF custody directly to Iraqi security forces.
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) January 9, 2022
540 Iraqi al-Hol families (around 2150 individuals) have been repatriated so far, 207 in 2022 alone.
RIC also reported last Tuesday that 95 Iraqi families had been repatriated from the camp.
“While the precise number of individuals is not known, judging by similarly-sized groups, this would mean around 1,250 Iraqis have left the camp thus far out of a total of 5,000 agreed on by a 2018 Iraqi-AANES (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria) agreement,” RIC said at the time.
Read More: 95 Iraqi families repatriated from Syria’s al-Hol camp: RIC
It also noted that over half of the camp’s approximately 57,000 residents are Iraqis. Iraqis also represent an “overwhelming majority of ISIS victims in the camp.”
Al-Hol is home to thousands of suspected ISIS members and their families who occasionally commit murder and cause violence. According to RIC figures, at least 93 residents in al-Hol were assassinated in 2021.
Thousands of Iraqi refugees remain stuck in the camp, with Iraq reluctant to repatriate many of its citizens who are suspected ISIS members and sympathizers.
According to USAID, 80 percent of Iraqi refugees in the camp that were recently surveyed “expressed a desire to return to Iraq.”