Iraqi authorities have repatriated 111 families linked to ISIS from a Kurdish-run camp in northern Syria, a local official said on Monday.
They arrived on Saturday and were transferred to Al Jadaa camp south of Mosul, in Nineveh province, the official said.
Since May 2021, at least 339 families linked to ISIS have been moved from Al Hol camp in north-east Syria to Al Jadaa which holds about 7,500 internally displaced people.
These include families of extremists, some of whom hail from other parts of Iraq, including the provinces of Salaheddine and Ramadi, Iraqi authorities say.
The prospect of their return to their places of origin has sparked concern among residents who survived the brutal rule of ISIS when it occupied a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017.
In late 2017, Iraq declared "victory" over ISIS after driving the extremists from all urban areas, with support from a US-led coalition.
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A family awaits departure during the release of another group of Syrian families from the Kurdish-run Al Hol camp, Syria. AFP -
The camp, in the Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, holds suspected relatives of ISIS fighters. AFP -
The sprawling site is home to more than 30,000 people, the majority of them children. AFP -
The United Nations has called on countries, including the US, the UK and Germany, to repatriate its citizens. AFP -
There are an estimated 10,000 foreign women and children from 57 countries detained at the Al Hol camp and its neighbouring Roj camp. AFP -
The UN has warned of fast-spreading disease and coronavirus outbreaks at the camps. AFP -
This month, Denmark announced it is to repatriate 22 Danish citizens, women and children. AFP -
Under international law, states have a duty to repatriate their citizens and, if there is evidence, to prosecute adults for war crimes or other offences at fair trials in their domestic courts, UN rights experts said. AFP
Iraqi authorities announced last month their intention to close Al Jadaa, the last camp sheltering displaced people in the country, outside the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
But the process is long and facing resistance from local populations who do not want ISIS families among them.
The International Organisation for Migration says six million Iraqis were displaced during ISIS's rule.
About 1.2 million of them have still not been able to go home, including more than 100,000 who live outside camps in "informal sites".
