Al-Hol Camp: Over 600 transferred to Nineveh

Shafaq News/ Dozens of families left Syria’s Al-Hol camp on Wednesday, heading toward Iraq under a joint arrangement signed Tuesday between the Iraqi government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

An official at the camp told Shafaq News, "161 Iraqi families, comprising 607 individuals, were transferred after completing the necessary procedures," explaining that the relocation was carried out using buses provided by the Iraqi government, with US forces escorting them to the Iraqi border before their transfer to Al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh province.

The official confirmed that coordination is ongoing between the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria and the Iraqi government to facilitate the voluntary return of Iraqis willing to go back.

Meanwhile, Syria and the SDF also agreed that the Syrian state will progressively take control of Al-Hol camp and the Iraqi border.

Located south of Syria’s Hasakah city, Al-Hol had been under SDF control before the fall of the Al-Assad regime. Iraq remains wary of a repeat of mid-2014, when ISIS seized nearly a third of the country, a crisis exacerbated by Syria’s ongoing conflict.

Iraqi authorities have long viewed Al-Hol as a security risk due to the presence of thousands of ISIS-linked individuals. Officials fear the camp’s role in fueling radicalization and its ties to past ISIS resurgence in the region.