More than 180 Iraqi families set to finally head home from Syria's al-Hol camp

Record ID: 1986665

  • Title: More than 180 Iraqi families set to finally head home from Syria's al-Hol camp
  • Date: 29th March 2025
  • Summary: AL-HOL CAMP, SYRIA (MARCH 29, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF IRAQI FAMILIES WAITING WITH THEIR LUGGAGE TO CROSS INTO IRAQ AFTER YEARS OF LIVING IN AL-HOL CAMP FAMILY PUTTING THEIR LUGGAGE IN CART (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IRAQI WOMAN LIVING AT AL-HOL CAMP, RIHANEH MOHAMED, 20 YEARS, SAYING: "Al-Hol camp is terrifying, really terrifying. I hope that all people get out of this place
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Iraq Syria al-Hol Camp autonomous administration families
  • Location: AL HOL CAMP, SYRIA
  • City: AL HOL CAMP, SYRIA
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Bombing (non-military),Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
  • Reuters ID: LVA001267229032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: One hundred and eighty Iraqi families previously linked to Islamic State gathered at al-Hol camp in Syria's Al-Hasakah province, on Saturday (March 29), in preparation to cross back into their home country.
    The families are being returned years after an attempt by the violent group Islamic State to establish a caliphate across the two neighbouring countries ended in military defeat.
    The al-Hol camp contains a population of around 40,000. Shukri Hajji, an administrator at the camp, said 618 people belonging to 186 families were set to go back to Iraq in the current batch of returnees.
    The camp is widely viewed as a breeding ground for extremism and a major security concern for regional states, chiefly neighbouring Iraq, where Islamic State at one point controlled about a third of the country.
    Camp authorities, led by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have long called on countries to repatriate citizens in the camp, which hosts thousands of foreigners.
    Iraq has repatriated more than 10,000, according to Iraqi officials, but few Western states have shown interest in following suit.
    Returning detainees to Syria under Assad was seen as taboo, given U.S. opposition to his rule and concerns about torture and killings in the Syrian government's notorious prison system.
    The SDF also runs a jail at Hasakah in northern Syria that holds about 4,500 Islamic State fighters, including many foreigners.
    (Production: Orhan Qereman, Kinda Makieh)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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