Iraqi FM, UN diplomat discuss issue of Syria’s Hawl Camp
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein Hussein stressed the importance of resolving the issue of Hawl Camp, northeastern Syria, in a meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Hussein met with Pedersen on the sidelines of the high-level week of meetings of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Hussein confirmed “the importance of resolving the issue of Al-Hol camp and the participation of countries in returning their citizens, given the imminent danger the camp poses to the security of Iraq and the region.”
Hawl camp, northeastern Syria, houses more than 30,000 Iraqis linked to the Islamic State (ISIS), including women and their children. The Iraqi government continues to coordinate closely with the Autonomous Administration of North and Eastern Syria (AANES) to repatriate its nationals from Hawl Camp.
Hussein called for financially supporting countries “hosting Syrian refugees on their territories and the participation of the international community in bearing the burdens of providing the basic needs of this sensitive class, as Iraq hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian citizens and they are treated like an Iraqi citizen on its territory.”