The U.S. sees the return of Iraqis as easing threats from Syrian refugee camps

The Iraqi government is expected to bring back about 100 Iraqi families from a large camp in Syria next week.

The repatriation is a move by US officials. It is a sign of hope for the long-term efforts to repatriate thousands of Iraqis from the camp. It is a well-known hotbed. Young ISIL fighters.

During an unannounced visit to Syria on Friday, Admiral Frank McKenzie, the top US general in the Middle East, expressed optimism that it would be possible to transfer from the “al-Hol” refugee camp. He has repeatedly warned the young people in the camp to be “radical” and will become the next generation of dangerous fighters.

“This will be the first step for many such repatriations, and I think it will be the key to reducing the country’s population. Hall camp, Even in other refugee camps in the area,” MacKenzie told reporters that he went to Syria with him.

“The state needs to bring back their citizens, repatriate them, reintegrate them into society, eliminate their free radicals when necessary, and make them a factor of social production.”

A little doubt

Senior US officials say that the transfer of people from refugee camps in northeastern Syria is one of many issues that the US and Iraqi governments are discussing as they develop a road map for future diplomatic and military relations. This happened at a meeting on Thursday, when McKenzie secretly blocked the capital, Baghdad. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and discussed internal deliberations.

Earlier this year, Iraqi leaders talked about the repatriation of some citizens but did not follow up. Therefore, the plan for next week has met with some doubts, and it seems that it is not clear whether this is the first step to change the rules of the game or a one-time transaction.

al-Hol camp is Up to 70,000 people The Syrian civil war and fighting with ISIL armed groups have displaced displaced persons (mainly women and children). As many as half of Iraqis. Approximately 10,000 foreigners were housed in a secure annex, and many in the camp remained stubborn ISIL supporters.

Many countries refuse to repatriate their citizens who joined ISIL after the “caliphate” was declared in 2014. The organization’s de facto control over the territory ended in 2017, but many countries are unwilling to repatriate their citizens for fear of their links with ISIL.

“Pay a high price”

In late March, in northeastern Syria, the main Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States conducted a five-day sweep in Hall, with the assistance of the US military. At least 125 suspects have been arrested.

Since then, Mackenzie said on Friday that the security situation in the camp has improved. However, he added that security has no real impact on the radicalization of young people there.

“This is what I am concerned about,” he said while standing at a base in northeastern Syria not far from the Turkish border. “ISIL has the ability to contact the outside world, to reach out to these young people and turn them around-unless we can find a way to take them back, this will cost us a high price.”

When Mackenzie traveled through eastern Syria and stopped at four US outposts, his message was brief and direct-the US military remained in Syria to fight ISIL remnants, so the fighters could not be reorganized. Some areas of ISIL are still active, especially in the large uncontrolled territories west of the Euphrates River, controlled by the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.

“In the wild and in the refugee camps, the underlying conditions for the poverty and sectarianism of IS still exist,” said Richard Bell, the deputy commander of the joint operations against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, who traveled with MacKenzie.

Mackenzie said that maintaining pressure from armed groups is important because “ISIS still has ambitious targets for attacking American homeland.”

“We want to prevent this from happening.”