Dozens of Iraqi, Syrian Families Departed From Syrian Camps in Repatriation Effort

HASAKAH, North and East Syria — Dozens of families from Iraq and Syria were departed this week from two displacement camps in North and East Syria, part of ongoing efforts by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced people. 

A convoy carrying 224 Iraqi families — about 840 people in total — departed from the al-Hol camp in eastern Hasakah province and crossed into Iraq. The transfer, the ninth of its kind this year, was conducted with tight security from the DAARNES’s Internal Security Forces and under the observation of the U.S.-led international coalition. 

Al-Hol has garnered international attention as one of the most volatile refugee camps in the world. It hosts tens of thousands of displaced Iraqis and Syrians, as well as an estimated 6,000 women and children affiliated with Islamic State fighters. The camp has faced repeated warnings over its dire conditions, overcrowding, and the persistence of extremist ideologies. 

In a parallel move, the DAARNES also relocated 46 Syrian families — over 190 people — from the al-Arisha camp, south of Hasakah, allowing them to return to their hometowns in the Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor) countryside. That operation was supervised by the DAARNES’s Social Affairs and Labor Board in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

These releases are part of a broader policy by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria to ease pressure on overcrowded camps and support the safe, voluntary return of displaced families to their places of origin.