Shafaq News – New York
World and regional officials pressed Friday for the closure of Syria’s Al-Hol camp during a high-level United Nations conference held on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
Located in northeast Syria, Al-Hol once held nearly 70,000 people at the height of the fight against ISIS in 2019. Its population has since dropped below 30,000, but the camp still houses thousands of women, children, and militants—many stateless. Rights groups warn of dire conditions, limited aid, and the risk of radicalization.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid told delegates that more than 10,000 foreign militants remain inside the camp, noting that 34 countries have repatriated their nationals, while citizens of six states are still stranded. Iraq, he said, has returned nearly 18,880 people—about 4,915 families—through a program that includes rehabilitation at Al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh.
Baghdad’s Migration Ministry confirmed that over 15,000 citizens have been reintegrated since 2021 with international support. The effort, however, has drawn objections from families of ISIS victims in Nineveh, who fear returnees could destabilize their communities.
Read more: Security vs. Humanity: Iraq's struggle with ISIS repatriation
Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji described Al-Hol on X as “a human reservoir for ISIS,” warning that leaving it intact threatens regional and global security.
UN Special Representative Mohamed Al Hassan also urged closure, saying camps like Al-Hol undermine Syrian sovereignty. “Syria is not a shelter for terrorists and their families from all over the world,” he told the gathering, praising Iraq’s repatriations and calling for greater international support to help Damascus reassert “control over its national territory.”
Meanwhile, US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper underscored the urgency of accelerating returns. “Repatriating vulnerable populations before they are radicalized is not just compassion—it is a decisive blow against ISIS’s ability to regenerate,” he argued, announcing the creation of a Joint Repatriation Cell in northeast Syria to coordinate with partner nations.