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Arab News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Syrian authorities announce closure of notorious desert camp
DAMASCUS: A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh group, near the borders with Jordan and people fleeing IS jihadists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Syrian President Bashar Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for an Islamist-led offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was 'officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes.'Syrian Information Minister Hamza Al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that 'with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close.''Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,' he its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. The numbers dwindled with time, especially after Jordan sealed off its side of the border and stopped regular aid deliveries in 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed Al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents 'the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people.''We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety,' he to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or IOM says the 'lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge' for those returning home.X
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria's Govt and Kurds Reach Agreement on Returning Families from Notorious Camp
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria announced Monday they have reached an agreement with the transitional government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the ISIS extremist group. Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country's northeast, said an agreement was reached on a 'joint mechanism' for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus and a delegation from the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS. Ahmed denied reports that administration of the camp will be handed over to Damascus in the near future, saying 'there was no discussion in this regard with the visiting delegation or with the Damascus government." Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camp, which houses about 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of ISIS fighters, as well as supporters of the group. They also include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join ISIS. The US military has been pushing for years for countries that have citizens at al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp to repatriate them. Iraq has taken back increasing numbers of citizens in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant. As for Syrians housed in the camp, a mechanism has been in place for several years to return those who want to go back to their communities in the Kurdish-controlled areas, where centers have been opened to reintegrate them. Before now, however, there had not been an agreement with the government in Damascus to return them to areas under the central government's control. The new agreement comes amid attempts to increase the cooperation between Kurdish authorities and the new leaders in Damascus after former President Bashar al-Assad was unseated in an opposition offensive in December. Under a deal signed in March between Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF is to be merged into the new government armed forces. All border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye and airports and oil fields in the northeast are to come under the central government's control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the ISIS group are held are also expected to come under central government control. The deal marked a major step toward unifying the disparate factions that had carved up Syria into de facto mini-states during its civil war that began in 2011 after the brutal crackdown by Assad's government on massive anti-government protests. However, implementation has been slow. Washington has been pushing for its enactment and, in particular, for Damascus to take over management of the prisons in northeast Syria.
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Syria's government and Kurds reach agreement on returning families from notorious camp
QAMISHLI, Syria — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria announced Monday they have reached an agreement with the transitional government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group. Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country's northeast, said an agreement was reached on a 'joint mechanism' for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus and a delegation from the U.S.-led international coalition fighting IS.
Associated Press
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Syria's government and Kurds reach agreement on returning families from notorious camp
QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria announced Monday they have reached an agreement with the transitional government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group. Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country's northeast, said an agreement was reached on a 'joint mechanism' for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus and a delegation from the U.S.-led international coalition fighting IS. Ahmed denied reports that administration of the camp will be handed over to Damascus in the near future, saying 'there was no discussion in this regard with the visiting delegation or with the Damascus government.' Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camp, which houses about 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of IS fighters as well as supporters of the militant group. They also include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join IS. The U.S. military has been pushing for years for countries that have citizens at al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp to repatriate them. Iraq has taken back increasing numbers of citizens in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant. As for Syrians housed in the camp, a mechanism has been in place for several years to return those who want to go back to their communities in the Kurdish-controlled areas, where centers have been opened to reintegrate them. Before now, however, there had not been an agreement with the government in Damascus to return them to areas under the central government's control. The new agreement comes amid attempts to increase the cooperation between Kurdish authorities and the new leaders in Damascus after former President Bashar Assad was unseated in a rebel offensive in December. Under a deal signed in March between Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF is to be merged into the new government armed forces. All border crossings with Iraq and Turkey and airports and oil fields in the northeast are to come under the central government's control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group are held are also expected to come under central government control. The deal marked a major step toward unifying the disparate factions that had carved up Syria into de facto mini-states during its civil war that began in 2011 after the brutal crackdown by Assad's government on massive anti-government protests. However, implementation has been slow. Washington has been pushing for its enactment and, in particular, for Damascus to take over management of the prisons in northeast Syria.
