"A total of 126 Iraqi citizens have been returned to Iraq from Tal Abyad [Gire Spi], Ral al-Ain [Sare Kani], Idlib and Azaz via the Iraqi-Turkish border," Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry, told Rudaw, referring to Ibrahim Khalil border crossing in Duhok province.
The returnees are from the provinces of Salahaddin, Nineveh, Anbar, and Kirkuk, Abbas explained, adding that in the coming two days, more people are expected to be repatriated.
"Many of our citizens have been displaced since 2014, and their return through Turkey and the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing in coordination with the Iraqi embassy in Turkey, the Iraqi consulate in Gaziantep, the ministry of transportation and our ministry branch in Duhok," he said.
Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, the ministry asked Iraqi citizens residing in Syria who wish to return, to contact the embassy and register their names.
Millions of Iraqis were displaced when the jihadist group seized control of swathes of territory in northern and central Iraq in 2014. But their so-called caliphate was brought to an end in 2017 when Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by the US-led global coalition, clawed back territory.
In its latest report on anti-ISIS operations, the Pentagon said that ISIS is a bigger threat in Syria than it is in Iraq.
A large number of over 40,000 people were held in the notorious al-Hol camp in the Kurdish-held region of northeast Syria (Rojava). The majority of them are believed to be wives or children of ISIS fighters. Iraq has repatriated.
