Iraq calls for closure of Daesh detention camp in Syria

Iraq has called for countries to repatriate their citizens held at a notorious Daesh detention camp in north-east Syria and for the camp to be closed. Concerns persist that it has become a “source for terrorism”.

Al-Hol camp is named after a town near the Iraq-Syria border. It houses tens of thousands of people linked to Daesh, which lost its last territorial foothold in Syria in 2019.

“Ending the issue of Al Hol camp has become a top national interest for Iraq,” Iraq News Agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Sahhaf as saying. “All countries that have citizens at Al Hol should repatriate them as soon as possible in order to eventually close the camp. It has become a dangerous epicentre for Daesh gatherings.”

His comments were made during a conference in Baghdad yesterday, which included the UN representative in Iraq, members of the international coalition against Daesh and several ambassadors, as well as NGOs.

According to AP, the camp holds about 51,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children, including the wives, widows and other family members of Daesh fighters, mostly Syrians and Iraqis. There are also around 8,000 women and children from 60 other nationalities who live in a part of the camp known as the Annex, which is considered to be home to the most die-hard Daesh supporters among the camp’s residents.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein revealed that Iraq has repatriated over 3,000 Daesh fighters from Syria to be tried in local courts.

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