Al-Hasaka, northeast Syria – More than 230 Iraqi families left al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria on Thursday, returning to Iraqi territory as part of the ongoing repatriation plan.
According to our correspondent in Al-Hasakah, 232 families, amounting to roughly 850 individuals, crossed the border back into Iraq.
This marks the 29th convoy of Iraqi families to leave al-Hol since repatriation efforts began. The previous transfer took place on July 31, when 233 families, comprising 812 individuals, departed the camp. That operation was carried out in coordination with the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the U.S.-led coalition, and the Iraqi government.
The latest group of returnees is expected to be relocated to al-Jad’ah camp inside Iraq, where security screening and reintegration programs are carried out.
Read more: Iraq Repatriates 15,000 from Syria’s Al-Hol Camp
Al-Hol, located in Syria’s al-Hasakah province near the Iraq border, remains one of the most complex humanitarian and security challenges in the region. According to camp director Jihan Hanan, the facility currently hosts around 15,000 Syrians, most from Idlib, Hama, Homs, Aleppo, and Damascus provinces, alongside a smaller number from northeastern Syria. Thousands of Iraqis and other foreign nationals, many of them family members of suspected ISIS fighters, also remain in the camp.
The departures come amid renewed international efforts to resolve the al-Hol crisis. Last week, U.S. chargé d’affaires in Iraq, Steven Fagin, revealed that an international conference will soon be held in New York to encourage countries to repatriate their citizens and work toward closing the camp entirely.
The U.S. and human rights organizations have long warned that al-Hol is being used as a recruitment ground for ISIS and that deteriorating security conditions inside the camp pose a threat to both the region and the wider international community.
