BAGHDAD — Iraq urged international locations on Monday to repatriate their residents from a sprawling camp in Syria housing tens of 1000’s linked to the extremist Islamic State group, saying it has turn into a “supply for terrorism.”
The statements have been made throughout a convention in Baghdad discussing al-Hol camp in northeast Syria. Iraqi officers, the U.N. consultant in Iraq, some members of the worldwide coalition combating IS and ambassadors of a number of international locations have been current.
Al-Hol Camp — named after a city close to the Iraqi border — is an open wound left by Syria’s 12-year battle. Tens of 1000’s of individuals have been taken to the power after the extremist group’s defeat in Syria in March 2019.
The camp holds about 51,000 folks, the overwhelming majority girls and kids, together with the wives, widows and different members of the family of IS militants, largely Syrians and Iraqis.
There are additionally round 8,000 girls and kids from 60 different nationalities who stay in part of the camp often called the Annex. They’re typically thought-about essentially the most die-hard IS supporters among the many camp residents.
There have been considerations that kids on the camp have been being taught extremist ideology by their moms. Specialists have warned {that a} future technology of IS fighters may emerge from al-Hol.
“Ending the difficulty of al-Hol camp has turn into a prime nationwide curiosity for Iraq,” stated Ahmad Sahhaf, Iraq’s Overseas Ministry spokesman, based on the nation’s state information company.
Sahhaf referred to as on the worldwide neighborhood to induce all international locations which have residents on the camp “to repatriate them as quickly as attainable in an effort to finally shut the camp” as a result of it has turn into “a harmful epicenter” for IS gatherings.
Iraq has repatriated 1,396 households from al-Hol constituting 5,569 of its residents over the previous weeks, stated Iraq’s Nationwide Safety Adviser Qasim al-Araji who spoke on the convention. Regardless of the repatriations, some 25,000 Iraqis stay on the camp, making up practically half its inhabitants.
The camp’s inhabitants is down from 73,000 folks, largely as a result of 1000’s of its Syrian and Iraqi inhabitants have been allowed to return residence. However different international locations have largely balked at taking again their nationals, who traveled to hitch IS after the unconventional group seized giant elements of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Regardless of the extremist group’s defeat in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, IS sleeper cells nonetheless perform lethal assaults in each international locations. Over the previous years, grisly crimes have been dedicated inside al-Hol.
Earlier this month, The U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces introduced it handed over 50 Iraqi IS fighters to Baghdad. It additionally stated that it repatriated 170 Iraqis who have been residing on the camp.
The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria has been urging international locations to repatriate their residents from the camp for years.
Final week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-hosted a gathering in Saudi Arabia for international ministers from the worldwide coalition battling IS throughout which he introduced practically $150 million in new U.S. funding for stabilization efforts in Syria and Iraq.
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Related Press author Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.