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150 Iraqi families to return home this week from Syria's notorious Al-Hol camp

150 Iraqi families to return home this week from Syria's notorious Al-Hol camp
At least 150 Iraqi families will be relocated to northern Iraq from the infamous camp in Syria housing IS relatives
2 min read
20 September, 2022
Al-Hol hosts tens of thousands of women and children, some related to IS militants [Getty]

Over a hundred Iraqi families staying at theÌý are expected to be transferred to their home country this week, a member of the IraqiÌýparliament has confirmed.

The 150 families will leave Al-Hol camp in eastern Syria and move to the Al-Jadaa camp in , where more than 600 Iraqis have been relocated so far.

After the families' arrival to Al-Jadaa, families will undergo various psychological and educational rehabilitation courses for a few months.

A UN programme will help children catch up with their education, while women can take part in workshops, a source told °®Âþµºâ€™s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

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Al-Hol houses tens of thousands of people, some of them related to Islamic State group fighters. It is mainly inhabited byÌýwomen and children from Iraq and Syria where the terror group once controlled large swathes of territory, although there are also foreign relatives of IS militants.

The Kurdish-led Syrian DemocraticÌýForces (SDF) guardÌýand runÌýthe overcrowded and dangerous camp, where children are particularly at risk. There have also been multiple cases of violenceÌýin the foreign annex of the camp.

"The situation in al-Hol camp…represents a state of anxiety for Iraq, and there is a fear of creating a new generation of IS [extremists], especially with the many problems in managing the camp by theÌýSyrian Democratic Forces," Iraqi sources quoted National Security Adviser Qassem Al-Araji as saying.

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