ISIS Families Enter Iraq Among Transferees from Hol Camp

Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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ISIS Families Enter Iraq Among Transferees from Hol Camp

Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A number of ISIS families entered back into Iraq among others transferred from al-Hol camp, in Syria’s al-Hasakah region, to al-Jada camp in Nineveh, following an agreement between Iraq and the United Nations Mission to Iraq.

A security source in Nineveh reported that a convoy of 10 buses entered al-Jada camp, south of Mosul, where they were assigned to their respective tents.

The source noted that a joint security committee from all state security agencies, including national security, intelligence, and military intelligence, has a complete database and list of names of each batch being transferred to determine which individuals belong to ISIS.

A number of Nineveh lawmakers have expressed alarm over the consequences of transferring these large numbers of families to Iraq. Security agencies also fear the possibility that ISIS may resume its work by exploiting these families, especially children, to establish a third generation of terrorists.

However, Nineveh Governor Najm al-Jubouri confirmed in a press conference that the batch that was transferred does not include ISIS relatives, but rather the families who migrated to Syrian territory because of the war and ended up in al-Hol.

Security expert Fadel Abu Ragheef told Asharq Al-Awsat that the transfer has already taken place, stressing that the most important issue is that Iraq cannot alone manage al-Hol camp, not even part of it.

Abu Ragheef described the camp as a "ticking time bomb" that threatens the entire world, as it includes more than 65,000 members of the ideologized ISIS families, who deeply believe in the terrorist organization’s extremist and radical views.

The situation demands real international efforts to confront the repercussions, said the expert, calling for allocating sufficient funds and sheltering camps to those families.

He also asserted that they should be referred to investigative committees, similar to what happened to the 1,600 detainees of Syria’s Baghouz camp, who were referred to the judiciary for sentencing.

Former Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iraqi government, which previously ignored the tragedy of the Yazidi community in particular and Iraqis in general, agreed to a suspicious deal to bring back more than 3,000 members of ISIS families to Iraq.

She explained that there are about 100 families who were transferred back to Iraq with official protection and housed in al-Jada camp.

Dakhil pointed out that this action ignores the tragedies of Iraqis, especially the Yazidis, who suffered genocide, displacement and rape, and the authorities did not take any serious steps to compensate them.

She rejected this “provocative step”, but acknowledged that some of these families may not be responsible for ISIS crimes against the Yazidis and Iraqis.

Meanwhile, Iraqi intelligence arrested a group of Syrians trying to infiltrate Iraqi territory across the border.

The Security Media Cell said in a statement, Monday, that based on accurate information of the Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Division - in Nineveh, the units arrested a group of Syrians infiltrating across the Syrian-Iraqi border.



Germany Says Sanctions against Syrian War Crimes Suspects Must Stay but People Need Relief

A group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP)
A group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP)
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Germany Says Sanctions against Syrian War Crimes Suspects Must Stay but People Need Relief

A group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP)
A group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP)

thGermany’s foreign minister said Sunday that sanctions against Syrian officials responsible for war crimes must remain in place but called for a “smart approach” to provide relief to the Syrian population after last month's overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Annalena Baerbock spoke to reporters after arriving in Saudi Arabia for a conference on Syria's future attended by top European and Middle Eastern diplomats.

Germany is one of several countries that imposed sanctions on the Assad government over its brutal crackdown on dissent. Those penalties could hinder Syria's recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the prewar population of 23 million, according to The AP.

“Sanctions against Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes during the civil war must remain in place,” Baerbock said. “But Germany proposes to take a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power.”

Baerbock announced an additional 50 million euros ($51.2 million) in German aid for food, emergency shelters and medical care, highlighting the ongoing struggles of millions of Syrians displaced by the war.

The sanctions imposed target not only senior government officials, but also the country's oil industry, international money transfers and hundreds of entities and individuals linked to the Assad government, crippling the wider economy.

There are exemptions when it comes to humanitarian aid, but relief organizations have said that overcompliance by financial institutions hinders their operations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which was a strong supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, would try to aid Syria in normalizing ties with the international community.

He said it was important to establish “a balance between the expectations of the international community and the realities faced by the new administration in Syria.”

He pledged Turkish support to the new government, especially in combating threats from the ISIS group. “As Türkiye, we are ready to do our part to ease the difficult path ahead for the Syrian people,” he said in comments carried by state-run Anadolu Agency.

The United States has eased some restrictions Last week, the United States eased some of its restrictions on Syria, with the US Treasury issuing a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The US has also dropped a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Syrian opposition leader formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month. Al-Sharaa was a former senior al-Qaeda militant who broke with the group years ago and has pledged an inclusive Syria that respects the rights of religious minorities.

The opposition factions led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule.

Much of the world severed ties with Assad and imposed sanctions on his government — and its Russian and Iranian allies — over alleged war crimes and the manufacturing of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon, which reportedly generated billions of dollars as packages of the little white pills were smuggled across Syria’s porous borders.

With Assad out of the picture, Syria’s new authorities hope that the international community will pour money into the country to rebuild its battered infrastructure and make its economy viable again.