191 Iraqis repatriated from Al-Hol Camp amid rapid developments in Camp 

The UNHCR Representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, stated that the agency supported yesterday the return of 191 Iraqi nationals from Al-Hol camp to Iraq as part of ongoing efforts to repatriate refugees to their home countries.

Llosa explained that UNHCR teams were on the ground to facilitate the process, beginning with community awareness and registration of returnees, and accompanying the convoy to the border, where Iraqi authorities received the returning citizens.

He noted that with this repatriation, along with the return of many vulnerable Syrian families supported by UNHCR and its partners, Al-Hol camp will become “practically empty.”

This comes at a time when Al-Hol camp, located in eastern rural Hasakah, is witnessing noticeable changes in its composition and population after years of hosting thousands of people, including Iraqis, Syrians, and foreigners, among them families of ISIS mercenaries in its designated sections.

In recent weeks, our agency has reported that the camp experienced security tensions and the escape of families of ISIS mercenaries following the takeover of the camp by factions affiliated with Syria’s Interim Government. Hundreds of families have also reportedly arrived in the rural areas of Aleppo and Idlib, amid ambiguity surrounding screening procedures, transfers, and their purpose.

Al-Hol camp includes a section housing families of ISIS mercenaries, making its file a subject of broad international attention due to its complex humanitarian and security dimensions. With repatriation efforts accelerating in recent months, attention is turning to the camp’s future and the possibility of its full closure or transformation into a new administrative structure in line with current developments.

ANHA