The camp of al-Hol in northeast Syria’s Hasaka province houses over 50,000 suspects with links to ISIS. The facility has infamously been branded a breeding ground for terrorism, with authorities describing it as a “ticking time bomb.”
“A meeting that includes the ministry of foreign affairs, the national security advisor, missions, and organizations in Iraq will be held today to discuss the vision of the Iraqi government regarding al-Hol camp in Syria,” Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told state media.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Thursday revealed that Iraq has repatriated over 3,000 ISIS fighters from Syria to be tried in the courts of law.
“Ending the issue of al-Hol camp has become a supreme security interest for Iraq,” Sahaf added, reiterating calls on the international community to repatriate their nationals from the facility with the goal of closing it entirely.
ISIS swept through swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but was declared devoid of territorial control in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Despite the group lacking any substantial territorial control, it still continues to pose a security risk through bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions, especially in rural areas where security is below par.
In northern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fought the lion’s share of the battle against ISIS and ultimately defeated the jihadists territorially in their last bastion of Baghouz in 2019. The Kurdish force is in control of numerous detention facilities that house tens of thousands of veteran ISIS fighters.
“The government was able to transport 10 batches of Iraqi families coming from the Syrian al-Hol camp back to the country, at a rate of 1,393 families or an average of 5,569 individuals,” Sahaf continued, saying that their rehabilitation process in Iraq has provided a “positive social acceptance” for returning ISIS-linked families.
Thousands of children of foreign nationals with suspected links to the Islamic State (ISIS) live in northeast Syria’s al-Hol and Roj camps, with human rights groups calling camp conditions “filthy,” “often inhumane,” and “life-threatening.”
Iraqis make up more than half of the camp’s population.
The repatriation of ISIS-linked Iraqi citizens has sparked opposition at home, with local tribes unwilling to accept and welcome those whose relatives inflicted untold human rights abuses and war crimes on the country during their reign of terror.