BAGHDAD: Iraq is stepping up repatriation of its citizens from a camp in northeastern Syria housing tens of thousands of people, mostly wives and children of Daesh fighters but also supporters of the militant group.
It’s a move that Baghdad hopes will reduce cross-border militant threats and eventually lead to shutting down the facility.
After US-backed and Kurdish-led fighters defeated the Daesh group in Syria in March 2019 — ending its self-proclaimed “caliphate” that had ruled over a large swath of territory straddling Iraq and Syria — thousands of Daesh fighters and their families were taken to the camp known as Al-Hol.
Many of them were Iraqi nationals.
Today, Iraqi officials see the facility, close to the Iraq-Syria border, as a major threat to their country’s security, a hotbed of the militants’ radical ideology and a place where thousands of children have been growing up into future militants.
It’s “a time bomb that can explode at any moment,” warned Ali Jahangir, a spokesman for Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displaced. Since January, more than 5,000 Iraqis have been repatriated, from Al-Hol, with more expected in the coming weeks, he said.
It is mainly women and children who are sent home. Iraqi men who have committed crimes as Daesh members rarely ask to go back for fear of being put on trial. Those who express readiness to return, have camp authorities send their names to Baghdad, where the government does a security cross-check and grants final approval.
Once in Iraq, the detainees are usually taken to the Jadaa camp near the northern city of Mosul, where they undergo rehabilitation programs with the help of UN agencies before they are allowed back to their hometowns or villages.
The programs involve therapy sessions with psychologists and educational classes meant to help them shed a mindset adopted under Daesh.
Iraq has been urging other countries to repatriate their citizens from al Hol, describing the camp at a conference held in June in Baghdad as a “source for terrorism.”
At the gathering, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Sahhaf said it was critical for all countries with citizens at Al-Hol “to repatriate them as soon as possible in order to eventually close the camp.”
The alternative, he warned, is a resurgence of the Daesh group.
The heavily-guarded facility, overseen by Syrian Kurdish-led forces allied with the United States, was once home to 73,000 people, the vast majority of them Syrians and Iraqis. Over the past few years, the population dropped to just over 48,000 and about 3,000 were released since May.
Those still at the camp include citizens of about 60 other countries who had joined Daesh, which is why closing Al-Hol will require efforts beyond Iraq and Syria, an Iraqi Defense ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The camp currently has 23,353 Iraqis, 17,456 Syrians and 7,438 other nationalities, according to Sheikhmous Ahmad, a Kurdish official overseeing camps for displaced in northeastern Syria. And though the foreigners are a minority, they are seen by many as the most problematic at Al-Hol — persistently loyal to the core Daesh ideology.
So far this year, Ahmad said, two groups of Syrians have left the camp for their hometowns in Syria. Earlier in September, 92 families consisting of 355 people returned to the northern city of Raqqa, once the capital of the Daesh caliphate. In May, 219 people returned to the northern town of Manbij.
Syrian nationals are released when Kurdish authorities overseeing the camp determine they are no longer a threat to society. The release of other nationalities is more complicated, since their countries of origin must agree to take them back.
Those of non-Syrian or Iraqi nationalities live in a part of the camp known as the Annex, considered the home of the most die-hard Daesh supporters. Many of them had traveled thousands of miles to join the extremist group after Daesh swept across the region in 2014.
In late August, 31 women and 64 children from the camp were returned to the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan on a special flight, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced and thanked the US government for providing “assistance and logistical support” for the repatriation.
But other countries — particularly in the West — have largely balked at taking back their nationals who were part of Daesh.
Despite the extremist group’s defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, Daesh sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks. Reports of grisly crimes inside Al-Hol itself have shocked rights groups, which describe the camp’s conditions as inhumane, particularly for children.
Human Rights Watch has cited inadequate food, water and medical care, as well as the physical and sexual abuse of inmates by guards and fellow detainees. Ageed Ibrahim of Rights Defense Initiative, a human rights group in northeastern Syria, has appealed for humanitarian assistance to improve living conditions for people still in the camp.
The US military says reducing the camp’s population is a necessary step in the ongoing fight against Daesh and an important part of its long-term defeat.
The United States has some 900 troops stationed in eastern Syria alongside an unknown number of contractors. The troops, who first arrived eight years ago, work alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella dominated by Kurdish fighters.
The camp “is certainly a security concern over time,” said US Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, the commanding general of the anti-Daesh coalition. He cited the reduction of killings inside the camp as an indication that reducing the population there helps improve security.
“Our State Department, working with other ministries of foreign affairs, are focused on decreasing the numbers there to improve the conditions in that camp,” he said.
The US military posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, recently that successful repatriations from Al-Hol ensure that “safety, security, and stability are maintained in the region.”
Iraq steps up repatriations from Daesh camp in Syria, hoping to reduce militant threats
https://arab.news/zgfz5
Iraq steps up repatriations from Daesh camp in Syria, hoping to reduce militant threats
- It’s a move Baghdad hopes will eventually lead to shutting down the facility
- The facility, close to the Iraq-Syria border, a place where children have been growing up into future militants.
Sudan aid convoy attacks are ‘horrendous incidents that need to be investigated,’ UN coordinator Denise Brown tells Arab News
- UN coordinator says aid workers will not withdraw despite deadly drone strike on humanitarian convoy in North Kordofan
- Denise Brown appeals to those with influence to end conflict as famine, siege and displacement devastate lives across Sudan
NEW YORK: Two hours after a Rapid Support Forces drone strike hit a convoy of World Food Programme trucks transporting aid to displaced families in North Kordofan, Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, drove past the smoldering wreckage.
The vehicles, contracted by the UN, had caught fire, destroying food intended for thousands of starving civilians. One person died and several others were injured in the attack on February 6.
Brown had once again witnessed firsthand the fragility of aid operations and the extreme hazards confronting humanitarian personnel in a country entering its third year of conflict.
“We lost UN colleagues killed. National NGO colleagues killed,” Brown told Arab News from Port Sudan. “It’s a constant refrain here; this is a dangerous business. The work we’re doing is in a high-risk context, but it’s where the world expects the UN to be. So we are there.
“And I am not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying we don’t have moments. When I went past those trucks, I was like, uh-oh. It was very close. So you have those moments. We start thinking maybe we need to go back? No. Absolutely not.
“So while these are horrendous incidents that need to be investigated, right now, it’s not stopping us from moving. It’s really the local Sudanese organizations that are out there all the time, and when something happens to them, it’s not front-page news the way it is for the UN.
“And I am really hopeful that soon our trucks will get into Dilling, where we haven’t been in months.”
Sudan’s defense minister has denied reports attributed to the General Intelligence Service alleging that the convoy targeted in North Kordofan was transporting weapons under the cover of humanitarian aid.
Gen. Hassan Kabroun told Arab News: “These claims are completely false. The Sudanese army does not use humanitarian convoys for military purposes.” He accused the Abu Dhabi-backed RSF of trying to deflect responsibility for the attack.
The ultimate victims of such attacks are the Sudanese civilians who desperately need aid.
In Darfur and Kordofan, towns remain under siege, economies are shattered and essential services disrupted. Malnutrition rates in Darfur have soared to 54 percent, three times the emergency threshold, with famine declared in Al-Fasher and Kadugli.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and the paramilitary RSF, has killed tens of thousands, with analysts putting the true death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
More than 33 million people now require humanitarian assistance, and more than 13.6 million have been displaced, including 4.3 million who have fled to neighboring countries.
Brown, a Canadian senior UN official with more than 25 years’ experience in complex emergencies from Ukraine to the Central African Republic, has held multiple leadership roles with the World Food Programme across Africa and at headquarters.
But even for her, the crisis in Sudan stands out.
“There’s a lot that’s keeping me awake at night, to be honest,” Brown told Arab News, reflecting on recent visits to displacement camps across Northern State, White Nile and North Kordofan.
“People continue to flee violence. People that I’ve met have been on their own, struggling because of the war. In many of these communities, particularly towns under siege like Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan or Al-Fasher, economies are broken.
“Jobs are lost. Families are separated. And you can see in the city the physical and mental toll that this takes on the people of Sudan. My heart broke quite a bit in the White Nile.
“The other day there was a large group of people who had just arrived from Kadugli, including one very elderly, frail lady who made it barefoot. Barefoot. That’s hundreds of kilometers. Sitting, waiting for assistance.
“So, how do we then provide everything that these people need, knowing that needs are growing and there are major protection concerns? Women alone. Children alone.”
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council published a report accusing the RSF of unleashing a “wave of intense violence … shocking in its scale and brutality” during its final offensive to capture Al-Fasher last October.
The report, based on interviews with more than 140 survivors and witnesses from Sudan’s Northern State and eastern Chad in late 2025, documented more than 6,000 killings in the first three days of the RSF assault that followed an 18-month siege.
The report said at least 4,400 people were killed in Al-Fasher during those initial days, and more than 1,600 others were killed while they attempted to flee. The actual death toll during the week-long assault is likely to be significantly higher, the report added.
In many cases, attacks were directed against civilians based on their ethnicity or perceived affiliation, the report said.
“The wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on Al-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence,” said Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
Brown highlighted the operational challenges of delivering aid to people where they are, rather than waiting for them to reach UN facilities.
“How do we get supplies to them? These are big questions. Because, at the end of the day, people’s lives depend on this. We’ve seen the malnutrition rates from Darfur: 54 percent. I’ve never seen that in my whole career. Three times higher than emergency levels.
“I think about those children a lot. Their death is written on the wall unless we can do more to help them. It’s a tall ask. This is really a life or death situation.”
She also described structural and geopolitical constraints limiting humanitarian access.
“In 2025, we were funded at 35 percent. When I was in the Al-Afat camp last week, I was asked, ‘Why is the UN not delivering?’ I said, ‘The UN can only deliver what we have.’
“This is a massive country with multiple frontlines, so delivering aid is difficult. We’re grateful for the Adre crossing from Chad into Darfur, and I hope we’ll eventually use the Tine crossing further north.
“Access also requires negotiation, particularly with the RSF in Darfur. In South Kordofan, active conflict has blocked aid for months. We lose people, and I’m not prepared to send them where they will be killed.
“It’s a difficult balance, but these are the obstacles that constantly get in our way.”
The risks are further compounded by the intensifying use of drones.
Drone attacks by both RSF and SAF have targeted convoys, markets, hospitals and residential neighborhoods. UN documentation shows that in the two weeks leading up to Feb. 6, some 90 civilians were killed and 142 injured in South and North Kordofan.
Despite these dangers, Brown refuses to name specific actors responsible, emphasizing the moral tension facing humanitarians.
“I’m the aid worker here. I’m the least important person in this conversation. I’m not the one who should be pointing out who should be doing what.
“All I can do is point out the consequences of this war on the people of Sudan, no matter where they are. And tell the world that the suffering is wrong. It’s not a way to live. These people don’t deserve this. They did not ask for it.
“So those who are in the position to make decisions, just ask them. Please step forward. Whoever they may be.”
Brown underscored the strategic use of famine and siege as weapons.
“Famine has been declared in two communities — Al-Fasher and Kadugli. This is not due to a failed harvest — it’s manmade.
“Towns are under siege, economies are broken, there are no jobs, people cannot take care of themselves, and commercial transport is interrupted. Convoys into Al-Fasher were blocked for 500 days.
“With food unavailable in markets and access blocked, malnutrition and mortality rise — that’s when famine occurs. Other areas are likely in a similar situation, even if we lack data.
“We’re very worried about Dilling and communities around Al-Fasher, and we are focusing on getting the supplies we do have to them.”
Brown painted a stark picture of civilian needs, spanning water, sanitation, nutrition, health services and vaccinations.
“Everything is required; access to drinkable water, health services, nutrition support, food, vaccinations. These children haven’t been vaccinated in quite some time. When I saw people coming from Kadugli last week, even adults were very thin.
“I’ve spoken many times about the severely malnourished babies in Tawila, who came from Al-Fasher just after the atrocities in October. These babies had almost no flesh and required immediate medical attention, which those we reached received.
“These are the consequences of war.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, the international community has been accused of dragging its feet, with peace efforts happening only sporadically. However, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, believes there is now a “certain focus” on the issue.
At a donor conference in Washington, D.C., this week, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged swift international action to address famine, sexual violence and mass displacement, stressing the need to move from words to action to support more than 20 million people.
The Sudan Quintet — which includes the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Arab League, the EU and the UN — issued a strongly worded statement calling on those with influence over the warring factions to “halt the flow of weapons, fighters, and other forms of support that sustain violence and contribute to the fragmentation of Sudan.”
With the UN chief arriving in Addis Ababa for the AU summit on Feb. 14-15, Dujarric told Arab News: “I think that there’s a certain focus, should we say, on everybody understanding — or at least most people understanding — that this conflict needs to end after the horrific things that are still going on.
“We’ve talked almost a couple of times a week about drones or rocket fires hitting hospitals, schools, mosques, killing people who themselves are near starvation. The level of depravity and cruelty that we’re seeing is close to being unmatched.
“Through the work of Tom Fletcher and Ramtane Lamamra (the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy for Sudan), we’re trying to bring the international community together to ensure that everybody’s pushing in the same direction.
“Sudan will be high on the secretary-general’s agenda while he’s in Addis Ababa to continue to push and seize this moment of focus.”
Brown concluded: “Sudan needs to be there. There needs to be intensive efforts to find ways to stop this war, or at least ensure we can get our job done. I can’t stop this war. So those who can, I’m really counting on them to step up to this incredibly difficult situation. We’re coming up to the third year of this war.”
Funding shortfalls, ongoing insecurity and the fragmented international response remain persistent obstacles.
“In 2025, we were funded at 35 percent. That’s 35 percent of what people need. One of the lowest, terrible moments for me was in Darfur — Tawila, Korma.
“Last October, we were operating just from Tawila, waiting for people to come to us, and then they get there, and we don’t have what they need. That’s a very difficult thing to accept.
“Now, we’ve been pushing out the NGOs, the UN doing a great job, faster, but we need the resources to ensure basic life-saving supplies are available. I’m talking about water, sanitation and nutrition support. We’re not talking about anything luxurious. Basic humanitarian assistance. So I hope the world is paying attention.”
