Iraq handling al-Hol returns with security and ‘humanitarian’ approach, Araji says

BAGHDAD — National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji said Thursday that Iraq is handling the return of Iraqis from Syria’s al-Hol camp through an approach that takes into account both security and humanitarian dimensions.

In a statement marking the International Day for Preventing Violent Extremism, al-Araji said Iraq was among the first countries to confront violent extremism “in its harshest forms,” describing the battle as one fought in defense of “humanity, the state and pluralism.”

He said Iraq’s experience demonstrated that “real security is not built by force alone, but through thought, justice, equal opportunities and social integration.”

Al-Araji said Iraq remains committed to returning Iraqis from al-Hol to their areas of origin “within a responsible national approach that takes into account security and humanitarian dimensions, ensures their rehabilitation and social reintegration, and contributes to ending areas of vulnerability and preventing their exploitation by extremist groups.”

Officials say more than 20,000 Iraqis have been repatriated from al-Hol so far, with fewer than 4,000 remaining. Returnees are transferred to the Jadaa Community Rehabilitation Center in Nineveh, where they undergo security screening, psychological support and reintegration programs before returning to their home districts.

Al-Araji said emerging challenges, particularly digital extremism, require greater coordination among security, educational, religious, cultural and media institutions.

Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria holds tens of thousands of people — mostly women and children, including thousands of Iraqis — detained or displaced as the Islamic State group lost its last territory in 2019.

Syrian Islamist government forces captured the camp last month after an offensive that led to the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had administered the facility for years.