The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement has revealed that around 3,000 Iraqi nationals remain in al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, noting that nearly half are unwilling to return.
Deputy Minister Karim al-Nouri told Rudaw Network, which is close to the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, on Sunday, February 22, that 1,200 Iraqis currently in al-Hol camp are unwilling to return because they are wanted by the Iraqi judiciary.
Al-Nouri added that Iraq is determined to close the al-Hol camp file permanently, describing the camp as “a hub for terrorism and a serious threat to Iraq, given its proximity, just 13 kilometers from the Iraqi border.”
He noted that Iraq has not received new Iraqi families from the camp since tensions escalated in northeastern Syria between the Syrian government and the SDF, despite a previous plan to repatriate a new group of Iraqi families. The plan was postponed due to security conditions in Syria.
According to al-Nouri, more than 20,000 Iraqis have returned from al-Hol camp so far, nearly 19,000 of whom have reintegrated into society. He emphasized that they “have returned to their homes without any security issues.”
Returnees from al-Hol are first received at al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh province in northern Iraq, which is designated for the rehabilitation of families of Islamic State fighters prior to their return to their original areas.
Camp residents to be transferred to Aleppo countryside
On February 15, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Representative in Syria Gonzalo Vargas Llosa said Syrian authorities had informed the agency of a plan to transfer the remaining families in al-Hol camp to another camp in Akhtarin city in the northern countryside of Aleppo province.
On February 18, the al-Hasakah Media Directorate announced the departure of a new convoy from al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria to Akhtarin camp in northern Aleppo, as part of a gradual relocation plan that will later target around 1,500 families.
Quoting the head of the Stability Support Unit, Munther al-Sallal, the directorate said elderly people, patients, and persons with disabilities would be transferred directly to their homes in consideration of their humanitarian and health conditions.
This step represents the first phase of a reintegration program for returning families. Akhtarin camp, located in the village of Aq Burhan southeast of Akhtarin subdistrict in northern Aleppo, is said to offer improved humanitarian and service conditions, with oversight from government bodies and humanitarian organizations.
The first group transferred to Akhtarin camp arrived on February 17 and included around 100 families. The number is expected to gradually increase to 150 families, approximately 500 people, most of them women and children. Their data are being registered and they are being distributed within the camp, according to al-Sallal.
The reception process was carried out in cooperation between the Stability Support Unit, the Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor, and UNHCR. Initial humanitarian assistance included food baskets, bread, and drinking water.
6,000 Syrians and 2,000 Iraqis remain
According to information previously obtained by Enab Baladi from a worker inside al-Hol camp, Syrian residents were given the option of leaving to their original areas of residence or relocating to Akhtarin camp.
As for Iraqi residents, discussions are still ongoing regarding their fate, either transferring them to Akhtarin camp or allowing them to benefit from UN programs that provide monthly support during their stay in Syria, according to the source, who works with one of the organizations overseeing the camp and requested anonymity.
The source said some families have already begun leaving the camp, while others have chosen to remain.
He estimated that around 6,000 Syrians and 2,000 Iraqis remain in al-Hol camp, and are likely to be transferred to Akhtarin camp.
Al-Hol camp has housed civilians who fled battles against the Islamic State, alongside families of captured or surrendered Islamic State fighters, making it one of the most complex humanitarian and security files in Syria.
The camp has previously witnessed partial evacuations of Syrian families, alongside programs to repatriate foreign families to their home countries, amid international calls for sustainable solutions for families linked to the group, either through repatriation or judicial and administrative arrangements inside Syria.
1,200 Iraqis unwilling to leave al-Hol camp Enab Baladi.
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