Shafaq News – Damascus

On Monday, 858 Iraqis left Syria’s Al-Hol camp toward Iraqi territory under heavy security provided by the US-led Global Coalition, an administrative source at the camp told Shafaq News.

The source noted that the transfer marks the 31st repatriation convoy since Iraqi citizens' returns began, carrying 240 families. The process of relocating Iraqi families who wish to return home is ongoing, coordinated between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Iraqi government.

According to Shafaq News correspondent, more than 20 Iraqi buses gathered outside the camp to transport the departing families via the Yarubiya border crossing, escorted by US armored vehicles and Coalition helicopters to ensure their safe passage.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Migration and Displacement confirmed that a new group of Iraqi families would soon leave Al-Hol, noting that about 3,000 nationals remain and are scheduled to return through three additional UN-coordinated convoys aimed at completing Iraq’s repatriation plan by 2027.

Dozens of families who refuse to return, however, continue to pose a challenge for both camp authorities and the Iraqi government, the source warned.

At its peak in 2019, Al-Hol housed nearly 70,000 people; by January 2025, the population had dropped to around 40,000, including 16,000 Syrians, 17,600 Iraqis, and about 6,400 foreign nationals.

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