Iraqi, international joint action to solve Syria’s Hawl Camp
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – Iraqi National Security Adviser announced about local international moves to solve Hawl Camp issue, while an Iraqi meeting, on this regard, resulted in the formation of four groups to follow up on the issue.
On Sunday, a constitutive session of the Iraqi and international working groups was held in Baghdad, it is concerned about the implementation of the international framework of the return of Iraqis from northeast Syria, and dissolving the Syrian Hawl Camp, office of Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said in a statement.
The statement of the National Security noted that al-Araji’s opening speech during the session stressed the need to end threat posed by the Hawl Camp.
He called for the international community to assume its responsibilities towards this issue, after the Iraqi government took a “courageous decision” and has begun implementing it since May 2021, in a reference to the operations to repatriate its nationals from the camp.
The session resulted in the formation of four Iraqi and international sub-groups in the areas of “legal protection for children, security and accountability for adults, rehabilitation, reintegrating and transitional services.”
Al-Araji announced the joint work started under the auspice of the Iraqi government and the UN to end this “dangerous and sensitive issue.”
Iraq repatriates Citizens
Since early 2022, Iraq has repatriated about 300 families from the camp, and procedures to take out 200 others, in cooperation with the National Security Advisory and the Iraqi security forces, are scheduled to be completed the end of this year.
On August 12, 150 Iraqi families left Hawl Camp and headed to their country, years after residing in the camp.
In early August, the Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria (AANES) called for the Iraqi government to speed up the pace of repatriating its nationals from Hawl Camp in the countryside of Hasakah.
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. The management of the camp fears that the latest Turkish threats of invading areas in northern Syria would pave the way for ISIS to reorganize its ranks; North Press cited a statement by the management as saying.
Iraqis returning from the camp are transferred to al-Jad’a Camp south of Mosul in Nineveh Governorate for rehabilitation before being returned to their areas.
Iraqis fear that the returnees are still affected by the extremist ideas of Islamic State Organization (ISIS), so the repatriation can take place only through vetting procedures and rehabilitation.
Turkish attacks trigger international concerns
The recent Iraqi move over the camp comes days after a warning by the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza, on Thursday, who warned of an increase in violence in the Hawl Camp.
Riza said that Hawl Camp “is no place for children. The steps taken by the Government of Iraq are extremely important in the path to solutions. Action by other Member States with citizens in the camp is urgently needed.”
The UN official voiced concern that the Hawl issue is affected by the recent Turkish military escalation in northern Syria using drones, resulting in civilian casualties.
According to a UN report, over 2.500 Iraqis have been repatriated, but there are still thousands of them left.
Those who are still in the camp are living in daily horror as they are repeatedly subjected to killings and kidnappings and keep calling for their government to take them back.
The number of residents in Hawl Camp is more than 56.000 people, 94% of whom are women and children, according to the UN.
The danger of the camp is exacerbating by the ISIS growing activity in different areas in Syria and Iraq.
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov confirmed this when he revealed, in a media briefing earlier in August, that there are about 10.000 ISIS members operating between Iraq and Syria, and that this region is highly vulnerable, as he put it.
Rising violence
On August 15, management of camps of northeast Syria warned of the escalation of violence in the Hawl camp.
In a press conference, co-chair of al-Hawl Camp Governing Council, Jihan Hannan, said that the increasing Turkish attacks on the region have affected the camp, where a lot of the ISIS militants are held.
Since early 2022, about 31 killings have been recorded in the camp using weapons and sharp tools, a security source told North Press
According to the information, the killings are often carried out by the most extremist individuals, who still carry extremist ideology inside the camp.
Both the AANES and Iraq renew their warnings of potential risks on the region and the world in the event of losing control over the Hawl Camp.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.