790 Iraqi families repatriated from NE Syria – Iraq’s Migration Ministry
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – An estimated 790 families were repatriated to Iraq coming from Hawl Camp, in northeast Syria, in six batches, Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement told North Press on Saturday.
The ministry stressed that the repatriation process would continue unstoppable in accordance with security conditions.
On September 9, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced 766 Iraqi families; numbering 3.090 individuals were repatriated from Hawl Camp after subjecting them to security measures.
Spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement Ali Abbas Jahangir told North Press that repatriating families from the Hawl Camp will not stop and that the ministry will continue coordination with relevant authorities in Iraq and northeast Syria to include these operations on their agenda.
He disclosed to North Press that, so far, 790 families in six batches have been repatriated from northeast Syria under a decision passed by the Iraqi government regarding nationals’ repatriation.
Every Iraqi repatriated from Hawl is subjected to security checks where the Supreme Security Committee meets those families one by one after moving them to camps and then they are transferred to their areas, according to Jahangir.
The Iraqi National Security Council had adopted resolution number 7 of 2021, stipulating the formation of a joint committee between National Security Advisers, the Ministry of Migration and Displacement and Joint Operations, as a result, a committee was formed to meet the Iraqi families in the Hawl camp that want to return, after checking their security position.
Jahangir explained the mechanism of returning the nationals to their original areas, where they are transferred to al-Jad’a camp, south of Mosul in Nineveh Governorate, for rehabilitation by a psychological support team that takes 3-4 months.
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.
The spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement confirmed that no one is forced on the return, it is “voluntary.”