Shafaq News/ The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) warned on Sunday that Iraq’s decision to suspend the repatriation of its citizens from Al-Hol and Roj camps would have serious consequences.

Sheikhmos Ahmed, co-chair of AANES’ Office of Displaced Persons and Refugee Affairs, told North Press that the move “negatively impacts the administration due to the large number of Iraqi refugees and Syrian displaced persons in the camps.”

“AANES has previously announced its intention to clear the camps in its territories,” Ahmed said. “However, we will not force anyone to return against their will.”

Since the start of 2025, four groups of Iraqi refugees—about 2,300 people—have been repatriated from Al-Hol and Roj camps under coordination between AANES and the Iraqi government.

On February 12, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced it was halting the process due to budget constraints. The decision followed an executive order from US President Donald Trump directing agencies to “immediately suspend new commitments and disbursement of development aid funds.”

Iraq’s Minister of Migration and Displacement, Evan Faeq, warned that the US funding cuts would directly impact Al-Hol camp in Syria and efforts to rehabilitate families with ties to the Islamic State group.

In a televised interview, Faeq said that Iraq had managed to repatriate 11,000 individuals from Al-Hol to Iraq and successfully reintegrated 9,000 of them into society, but 17,000 people remain in the camp.

Relief officials, local authorities in northeastern Syria, and diplomats have also cautioned that the Trump administration’s cuts could destabilize the camps, which house tens of thousands of individuals accused of links to ISIS.