ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said on Monday that the Iraqi government is "working hard" with Western allies to close the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) housing families with Islamic State (ISIS) ties. He warned that the camp is a "ticking time bomb."
Al-Hol "continues to pose a security threat, indeed a ticking time bomb, and we are working hard to completely close the camp," Araji told Rudaw.
He added that they have "coordination" with the European Union and the US to encourage the international community to repatriate their nationals from the camp.
Al-Hol camp in Hasaka city has a population of 27,488 people (7,770 families), mainly women and children with alleged ties to ISIS. The number includes 15,233 Syrians (4,200 families), and 5,854 Iraqis (1,655 families). The rest are from numerous countries around the world, according to the latest figure Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees all internally displaced persons and refugee camps in Rojava, has provided to Rudaw English.
Most of the people held in the camps were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led global coalition during the war to territorially defeat ISIS.
Al-Hol is infamous for its squalid conditions and has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Kurdish forces have carried out several raids in the camp to curb ISIS activities.
Iraq plans to hold a conference on September 26 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The aim of the event is to accelerate the repatriation of ISIS-linked individuals to al-Hol camp. However, Rojava authorities have not been invited to the event, according to Ahmed.
Araji said they will encourage dozens of countries during the New York conference to repatriate their nationals - a call frequently made by Rojava and US officials.
Rojava's Ahmed had previously told Rudaw English that some Iraqis are not willing to return fearing reprisal by Iraqi militia groups or are wanted by Baghdad. Araji said he is not aware of such cases.
"Until now, we have not been officially informed of any family's refusal to return to Iraq, and Iraq is still using the voluntary return approach," he said.
A new batch of Iraqi nationals believed to be close to a thousand people held in al-Hol are set to be repatriated on September 20, a lawmaker told Rudaw on Thursday. The head of Rojava's camp told Rudaw English that the number is believed to be around 800 but noted that the Iraqi side has yet to inform them about the date of the repatriation.
Iraq brings the repatriated nationals from al-Hol camp to them to al-Jada camp south of Mosul, where they go through a rehabilitation program before reintegrating into the community.
Baghdad has set a goal of repatriating all Iraqi citizens from camps in Rojava by 2027.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this article.
