Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassem al-Araji announced today that 24 out of 60 countries have begun the process of repatriating their citizens from the families of ISIS members in the Al-Hol camp in Syria. Al-Araji stated, "In Al-Hol camp, there are family members of ISIS from 60 countries, and after Iraq's continuous efforts, 24 countries have started the process of withdrawing their citizens." He added, "Among those countries is Russia, which recently repatriated 32 children (12 girls and 20 boys) aged between 5 and 17 years." He continued, "While we thank the Russian government's stance, we call on other countries to repatriate their citizens in preparation for the camp's closure."
Iraq announced at the end of April that it had repatriated around 700 individuals linked to ISIS, who had been held for years in the Al-Hol camp. They will undergo a rehabilitation program with the assistance of international agencies in order to distance them from extremist ideologies. He pointed out that "although the majority of returnees are women and children, they still carry the extremist ideology of ISIS." Iraq is seeking to close the Al-Hol camp, which houses tens of thousands of wives and children of ISIS militants, as well as supporters of the extremist organization, in order to reduce the risks of armed threats across the border with Syria.
