Iraq's National Advisor and the U.N. special Envoy warn of the situation at Al-Hol Camp
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, the Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qassem al-Araji, described the al-Hol Camp in eastern Syria as a "real threat" to the country. At the same time, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, noted that the situation in the Camp is now unstable.
In a lecture at the Al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies in Baghdad, al-Araji revealed, "the Syrian Democratic Forces apprehend more than 12 thousand terrorists, and ISIS members often try to storm the prisons where most of their leaders are arrested."
"We moved 450 Iraqi families from Al-Hol to Al-Jada'a camp for psychological rehabilitation under the United Nations… the government also decided to receive Iraqi families from the camp in the coming months."
The Iraqi National Security Adviser stated that the Al-Hol camp includes 30,000 Iraqis, and 20,000 of them are minors (under the age of full legal responsibility).
In turn, the U.N. official stressed the necessity to find a comprehensive solution to al-Hol's file, noting that "there are 30,000 Iraqis who have ties to ISIS, and some of their victims are living in this Camp."
"Three out of five displaced are under 17 years old, many of them are deprived of the most basic rights, including education." She added.
Plasschaert indicated that "yesterday's war with ISIS may turn into tomorrow's war, if there are no solutions," warning that "the current situation in the al-Hol camp is unstable, and keeping people in this situation represents a great threat."
"The United Nations is ready to provide humanitarian support to Iraq to receive more Iraqis from the al-Hol camp," Plasschaert confirmed.
Al-Hol camp is located in Al-Hasakah Province; It houses families of ISIS fighters under the protection of the Kurdish-led administration in Syria's northeast.
According to U.N. estimates, the Camp alone houses nearly 65,000 people, including about 28,000 Syrians, 30,000 Iraqis, and about 10,000 other foreigners of many nationalities.
