Kyrgyzstan repatriates over 600 citizens from Syria, Iraq

Shafaq News/ Kyrgyzstan has repatriated over 600 citizens from Syria and Iraq, according to the Kyrgyz state news agency AKIpress. The returnees, who had been living in detention camps, were linked to ISIS fighters and other terrorist groups.

"They are our citizens, whether they are good or bad," said Marat Imankulov, the head of Kyrgyzstan's Security Council. "What is the fault of the children? Who will take care of them, if not the state?"

The repatriation operation was carried out at the behest of President Sadyr Japarov, and involved the cooperation of all government agencies, according to AKIpress.

Psychologists, labor ministry officials, health ministry representatives, religious figures, and theologians are working with the returnees to help them reintegrate into society.

According to AKIpress, there are still around 60 Kyrgyz citizens remaining in camps in Syria and Iraq. The government is working to repatriate them as well, AKIpress said. The Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in north-east Syria was home to more than 50,000 people, including family members of suspected ISIS militants, as well as displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees, before repatriation efforts began in 2021.

It is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after ISIS was dislodged from its last stronghold in Syria in 2019 and remains one of the biggest unresolved humanitarian issues in the region.

More than 43,000 Syrians, Iraqis and foreigners from at least 45 countries remain in the squalid and overcrowded camp, according to the official. Iraqis are the largest nationality among them, followed by Syrians.

For years, Iraqi authorities have pushed for the closure of al-Hol, which is located close to the Iraqi border, citing security concerns. The UN has also been calling on governments to repatriate more from their citizens.

Repatriation of family members of suspected ISIS members has stirred controversy in Iraq, where the extremist group had seized large swathes of land before being defeated in late 2017. The group committed atrocities in Mosul and other areas of northern Iraq it controlled, including the targeting of minority groups such as the Yazidis.

Some Iraqis have resisted the repatriation efforts, saying they do not want ISIS families among them. Despite the criticism, the Iraqi government regularly repatriates its citizens from al-Hol, a policy commended by the UN and US.