Ministry spokesperson Ali Abbas told Rudaw that Iraq has so far repatriated 11,529 people from the camp, all of which were sent to al-Jada camp in Nineveh province for rehabilitation.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked people who have been held at al-Hol camp in northeast Syria’s Hasaka province since the defeat of the jihadists in 2019. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
A total of 2,461 nationals still remain in al-Jada and have yet to be reintegrated into their home communities, according to Abbas.
The repatriation of ISIS-linked citizens has sparked opposition in Iraq, with tribes unwilling to accept people associated with the group that committed heinous human rights abuses and war crimes from 2014 to 2017, when they controlled vast swathes of the country.
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called on the international community to repatriate their nationals from the camps, but their calls have largely gone unanswered as most countries are unwilling to bring back their citizens due to security concerns.
On Friday, Abbas said that Iraq is set to repatriate an additional 150 families from al-Hol.
