The United States has repatriated an American child separated from their family from a sprawling camp in northeastern Syria that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the State Department said Tuesday.
The department estimates that some 30,000 people from 70 countries remain in al-Hol Camp and one other similar camp, most of them wives and children of ISIS fighters as well as supporters of the extremist group. They include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.
Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the al-Hol camp, which the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have administered for years. The SDF are Washington’s key ally in combating ISIS in Syria and its sleeper cells, and for years have run large swaths of northeastern Syria.
CBS News’ senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams visited the al-Hol camp in 2019 and spoke with the camp’s residents. Many of them expressed remorse for their prior ties to ISIS and said they wanted to return to their home countries β often in Western Europe β but some others defended the group’s terror attacks.
The State Department did not give any details about the repatriation, except to say in a statement that the child “has known nothing of life outside of the camps” and will be reunified with their family.
The U.S. military for years has been pushing for countries to repatriate their citizens from al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp. Iraq has taken back an increasing number in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant.
“The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in these displaced persons camps in northeast Syria is for countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for their nationals,” the State Department statement read. “The same goes for former ISIS fighters held in detention centers in northeast Syria,” it said, using a different abbreviation for IS.
Despite difficult talks to formally merge with the country’s new rulers under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Damascus and the SDF in May reached an agreement to repatriate Syrians in the camp. Since the ouster of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, Washington has been pushing for the two sides to implement their deal and unify Syrian territory, which would ultimately put the camp under the control of the government.
Last year, shortly after Assad’s government fell, CBS News was taken inside the al-Hol camp. Guards said the security situation had deteriorated since word had spread about Assad’s ouster, raising optimism that they could leave the camp.
The SDF did not immediately comment to the Associated Press on the repatriation.
