General Michael "Erik" Kurilla “ traveled to Syria where he visited the al-Hol and al-Roj Displaced Persons Camps in northeast Syria. These visits involved interactions with camp administrators, as well as camp residents themselves, to observe first hand the current humanitarian conditions, continued improvements in camp security, and repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration efforts to return residents to their countries of origin,” CENTCOM said in the statement on Wednesday.
"Our continuing multi-national effort to repatriate the residents of the camps to their countries of origin not only enhances security and stability in the region, but, more importantly, eases this humanitarian challenge," the statement cited the commander as saying. "The United States, SDF, and the Global Coalition remain focused and committed on the enduring defeat of ISIS while addressing the humanitarian and security challenges at camps in northeast Syria.”
General Kurilla also met with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), discussing the fight against ISIS.
The US commander made his first public visit to the notorious al-Hol camp in September last year - five months after assuming the position. Some 50,000 ISIS-affiliated people are held in the camp.
ISIS controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land in 2014 but was territorially defeated in both countries by 2019. However, the group continues posing threats to Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
The CENTCOM commander oversees US military missions in the Middle East, central, and southern Asia.
Thousands suspected ISIS fighters are held in prisons in Rojava, guarded by the SDF with the assistance of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.
