Iraqi delegation arrives Syria’s northeast to repatriate nationals
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – An Iraqi delegation, arrived in northeast Syria at the beginning of this week, is registering the names of people and families wishing to leave Hawl Camp and go back to their country.
“The delegation, which belongs to the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement, has been in the camp for about a week and is registering the names of families and individuals wishing to leave the camp to the Iraqi territory,” an informed source told North Press.
About 450 to 500 individuals are scheduled to be repatriated, the source added.
The identity of the registrants is also checked and verified, and a security search is conducted about them by the Iraqi authorities before their departure, the source further explained.
During the years 2019/2020, the Iraqi government resumed trips to get back Iraqis from Hawl Camp, but it then suspended those trips due to pressure from Iraqi tribal notables who accused these returnees of being ISIS members, according to refugees.
Iraqi refugees in Hawl camp, east of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, are calling on their country’s government to speed the process of repatriating them to Iraq in light of the continuing killings in the camp and the poor security conditions there.
Following the ISIS attack on Mosul and the Sinjar District in Iraq in 2014 and 2015, many residents fled to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) areas.
Hawl Camp, 45 km east of the city of Hasakah, is a house for 55.829 individuals, including 28.725 Iraqis, 18.850 Syrians and 8.254 of foreign nationalities, according to the latest statistics obtained by North Press.
The camp witnesses murders with different methods, most notably firearms.
“A previous agreement between the Iraqi government and the Autonomous Administration provided for the Iraqi government to repatriate 5.000 indivduals,” Sheikhmous Ahmad, head of the IDPs and Refugees’ Affairs Office, previously told North Press.
“But the response of the Iraqi government to return its nationals and to facilitate the trips are slow,” Ahmad added.
Under the Global Coalition pressure and in coordination with the Autonomous Administration, the Iraqi government restarted return trips for Iraqis during the year 2021.
Since mid-2021, about five trips were carried out, including Iraqi families, who were returned to al-Jada’a camp in northeastern Iraq.