ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States is establishing a joint cell with other nations to facilitate the repatriation of foreigners from northeast Syria (Rojava) where thousands of people with suspected ties to the Islamic State (ISIS) are being held.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) that oversees troops in the Middle East, announced the measure on Friday at a conference in New York about Rojava’s al-Hol camp.
“Cooper announced CENTCOM is establishing a special Joint Repatriation Cell in northeast Syria to coordinate the return of displaced or detained persons to their home countries. He also lauded Iraq’s government, which returned home 80% of its population at al-Hol, for leading repatriation efforts by example,” CENTCOM said.
“Repatriating vulnerable populations before they are radicalized is not just compassion - it is a decisive blow against ISIS’s ability to regenerate,” said Cooper. “Today, I join you all in calling on every nation with detained or displaced personnel in Syria to return your citizens.”
Al-Hol camp in Hasaka 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 figures provided to Rudaw English by Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees all internally displaced persons and refugee camps in Rojava.
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 that ended in 2019.
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.
The purpose of the conference in New York, put on by Iraq, was to accelerate the repatriation of ISIS-linked individuals from al-Hol camp. Rojava authorities were not invited to the event.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, addressing the conference, said Iraq has repatriated 4,915 families, totaling 18,880 individuals, from al-Hol, which he described as a complex humanitarian and security issue.
"Iraq has taken a courageous decision to repatriate its citizens from the camp, believing in the necessity of ending their suffering that has extended for years, and to protect our national security and the stability of our society," he said.
According to Rashid, 34 other countries have begun repatriating their nationals from the camp, but six countries remain hesitant to take this step.
