ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish authorities and the Syrian interim government have reached an agreement to empty the notorious al-Hol camp from Syrians and return them to their homes, a Kurdish official said on Monday.
The official Facebook page of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), on Monday cited Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees all internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugee camps in Rojava, as saying that a meeting was held between Rojava and Damascus officials earlier in the week. They agreed to “establish a joint mechanism for evacuating Syrian families from al-Hol camp and returning them to their original areas.”
A delegation from the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) also took part in the meeting.
A delegation from the Syrian government visited al-Hol camp on Saturday, according to local media. The delegation consisted of ten people and was the first visit to the camp by the interim government. They were also joined by representatives from the US-led global coalition against ISIS.
Ahmed was possibly referring to the same delegations.
Syrian interior ministry spokesperson told Rudaw on Saturday that as per the landmark agreement between Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in March, Damascus will assume the control of all areas in Rojava, including al-Hol camp.
He added that they want to ensure the al-Hol camp is no longer a source of unrest and extremism. “Now, it will become a comprehensive societal rehabilitation dossier targeting the victims and families of individuals who joined ISIS,” he said.
Al-Hol camp in Hasaka province is infamous for its squalid conditions and has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the nearly 40,000 ISIS-linked people who have been held at the camp since the defeat of the group in 2019. There are also people in the camp from around the world who had traveled to join the so-called ISIS caliphate.
The DAANES in January announced that its doors are open to the “voluntary return” of Syrians in the camp to their hometowns. Iraq has been repatriating its nationals in groups, putting them through a rehabilitation program before they return to their original homes.
