CENTCOM commander visits Northeast Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Michael “Erik” Kurilla traveled to Northeast Syria on August 21 and met with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the CENTCOM announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the CENTCOM said Kurilla visited Hawl and Roj camps that house the families of ISIS’ members where he met the camps administrators and the camps residents themselves.
He observed the humanitarian conditions in the camps, the security, the repatriation, the rehabilitation, and the reintegration efforts to return residents to their countries of origin, the statement noted.
“Our continuing multi-national effort to repatriate the residents of the camps to their countries of origin not only enhances security and stability in the region, but, more importantly, eases this humanitarian challenge,” Kurilla said.
The CENTCOM commander also met with the SDF leaders and discussed the ongoing campaign to defeat ISIS and continuing humanitarian assistance efforts in the region, according to the statement.
“The United States, SDF, and the Global Coalition remain focused and committed on the enduring defeat of ISIS while addressing the humanitarian and security challenges at camps in northeast Syria,” Kurilla added.
Michael Kurilla assumed command of CENTCOM in April 2022.
The CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the US Department of Defense. It was founded in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). In Northeast Syria, the CENTCOM aims at continuing to develop and enable the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to defeat ISIS and requesting the nations repatriate their citizens of ISIS families from Hawl and Roj camps.