Iraqi refugees increased their fear demanding to return their homeland

Al-Hol camp, located 45 km east of the city of al-Hasakah, played a fundamental role in sheltering thousands of Iraqi refugees who went to the liberated areas in northern Syria, fleeing ISIS mercenaries, in addition to thousands of displaced people from various Syrian cities and providing them with assistance through the capabilities of the Autonomous Administration.

Northern and eastern Syria has turned into a safe haven for displaced Syrians and refugees from neighboring countries, in light of the difficult humanitarian situation they were living in their areas, as the Autonomous Administration and its affiliated institutions provided services according to their capabilities despite the blockade imposed on northern Syria, but this aid remained deficient due to the neglect of humanitarian organizations and relief for those camps and not providing them with support.

The number of Iraqi refugees in Al-Hol camp is currently more than 31,000 refugees, living in four sectors, organized through communes and councils.

After a 9-month campaign, the Iraqi forces were able to clean the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS mercenaries, and since that time, the Iraqis stranded in Al-Hol camp have sought to return to their homes, and end their journey of suffering and displacement for nearly 6 years.

The administration of Al-Hol camp, in cooperation with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and in response to the refugees' demands, communicated with the concerned authorities in the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees Affairs, and was able to return more than 4,000 Iraqi refugees through more than four trips.

However, the return trips suddenly stopped and without prior notice from the Iraqi side, and the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees did not explain the reasons despite the camp management communicating with it

The Iraqi refugees who are now in Al-Hol camp are calling on the Iraqi government to return to their homes, and they indicate that they have appeared from the Iranian-affiliated militias in the administration of their areas.

The pace of these demands increased after the families of ISIS mercenaries entered Al-Hol camp, who were expelled from al-Baghouz area, the last ISIS stronghold in the eastern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor and the regions of north and east Syria, and the point of the collapse of the alleged caliphate.

Ali Muhammad, an Iraqi refugee from the city of Nineveh, who has lived in Al Hol camp since 2015, points out that their conditions are difficult in Al-Hol camp due to the lack of job opportunities, and the organizations' demands not being met.

Muhammad, like thousands of other Iraqis, hopes to return to Iraq, and tells the Iraqi government, "Not everyone who left Iraq is ISIS, and not everyone in Al-Hol camp is ISIS. We migrated from oppression, we want to return to our tribes, and we are facing difficult suffering inside the camp."

Al-Hol camp is going through difficult security conditions, especially with the increase in the parties trying to smuggle the families of ISIS mercenaries, especially Turkey and the organizations that work in their service, and ISIS women intentionally kill everyone who does not accept their ISIS ideology in several ways, as the camp witnessed dozens of cases of murder. The last of which was a killing carried out by unidentified persons, known as "Hamada", an Iraqi refugee in the third section of the camp.

According to what the security authorities reported from inside the camp to ANHA correspondent, the killing was carried out with a silencer pistol, and that the Iraqi refugee Hamada lost his life after being hit by four bullets.

Refugee Muhammad expresses his fear of attacks by ISIS women, saying, "There are killings inside the camp with sharp tools. We are threatened. We say to the Iraqi government if you do not receive us as Iraqis, you should receive us as refugees."

The assistance provided by the Autonomous Administration to Al-Hol camp does not meet the needs of refugees and displaced persons due to the huge number living inside the camp, in addition to the fact that the regions of northern and eastern Syria are undergoing a severe siege, and the organizations have reduced their aid to refugees since the beginning of this year, as a result of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic that lurks in the camp, in the absence of relief organizations.

Haidar Hussain, a refugee from Anbar, has lived in Al-Hol camp for nearly 6 years, and he and his family sought refuge there to escape ISIS, which took control of nearly two-thirds of Iraq. He says, "We are hoping now to return to our homeland, which suffered woes at the hands of ISIS mercenaries. As a result of the neglect of organizations, the refugees began to beg process.

As refugee Amani Muhammad, from Ramadi and residing in Al-Hol since 2017, says, "We have had four years hoping to return to our homes. There is no future for us and our children in the camp. We asked the Iraqi government to open flights and transfer all Iraqis to their cities. When we arrive in Iraq, we will bear the responsibility of ourselves, we do not want aid. "

Many Iraqi refugees have indicated that a large number of militias affiliated with Iran currently reside in their villages and cities, and they assert that they are the sons of Iraq and the first of these, and they demand the Iraqi government to expel them and return the refugees to their original homeland.

The refugee who called himself Khaled Ali, and sought refuge in Al-Hol from Mosul in 2017, asks, "We do not know why the flights were stopped. We call on the Iraqi government to return the flights that were stopped, and to remove the Iranian militias from our areas because they commit violations against our people."

As for Suleiman Al-Hammadi, head of the Iraqi Council in Al-Hol camp, he noted that "we fled our areas in Iraq after the mercenaries of ISIS entered them," and he called on the Iraqi government for mercy.

Al-Hammadi called on the Iraqi government to return all Iraqis who fled after the attack of ISIS mercenaries, and they have nothing to do with what happened, and said, "We call for the return of all Iraqi refugees who fled from the oppression of ISIS, not just some of them."

Al-Hammadi pointed out that the reason why the Iraqi government does not demand them is that the Iraqi government views them as families of ISIS, as he denied this accusation that they were deserted because of ISIS, and they have no relationship with them.

The families of ISIS mercenaries after they organized themselves and formed the so-called Sharia court within their respective departments, and they began to implement their plans to kill refugees and displaced persons who refuse to cooperate with them or take their teachings stemming from their extremist ideology, and target the young group in their operations.

In addition, the security forces in the camp found many Iraqi dead inside the camp, they were killed with sharp tools which are mostly similar, in addition to finding warehouses for incendiary materials inside containers.

Al-Hammadi notes that safety inside Al-Hol camp has decreased after the mercenaries' families killed Iraqi youths who rejected their ideas and orientations, which threatens their presence in the camp, and therefore they demand to return.

The co-chair of Al-Hol camp administration, Ismail Suleiman, confirmed that so far, about 2,500 Iraqi refugees have registered their names and want to return to their homeland.

Suleiman pointed out that, despite the request they sent to the Iraqi government, they did not receive any response, noting that those who registered their names would return back on their own.

Suleiman indicated that among those who registered their names are patients who refuse to receive treatment in the region and want treatment in their homeland, in order to ensure the return after the approval of the Iraqi government.

T/S

ANHA