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50 Thousand Iraqis Suspected in Working with ISIS are Held in Al-Hawl Camp | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Civilians who fled their homes due to clashes on the outskirts of Fallujah, gather in the town of Garma, Iraq / Reuters


50 Thousand Iraqis Suspected in Working with ISIS are Held in Al-Hawl Camp

by | Jun 20, 2016 | Middle East |

50 Thousand Iraqis Suspected in Working with ISIS are Held in Al-Hawl Camp

The future of over 50 thousand of displaced citizens from Mosul is still unknown as they remain in captivity in al-Hawl Refugee Camp on the international borders between Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Kurdistan region.

Iraqi Member of Parliament of Nineveh Intisar al-Jabbouri said that technically the displaced civilians escaped ISIS after taking control over their cities. She added that part of them chose to go to Kurdistan to settle down until they were able to return to their homes, while others chose to leave Iraq.

Jabbouri told Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper that many of those paid a lot of money to escape through Turkey, but the smugglers took their money and left them on the borders. She added that they can’t carry on since they don’t know the way and they can’t return because authorities in Kurdistan can’t grant them access.

Jabbouri said the case is political and thus needs a political solution that can be reached through an agreement between the Kurdish government, Syrian side, and Iraqi government.

The MP explained that investigating all the civilians requires a lot of time and efforts, and up till now nothing has been done despite holding them in the camp.

Concerning the ongoing battles in Makhmour and al-Sherqat, Jabbouri said that the liberation of Fallujah had a great impact on the battles in Mosul and lifting the morals of the Iraqi fighters.

Jabbouri added that she received letters from civilians inside Mosul expressing their joy and happiness with the achievement and their willingness to join a revolution against ISIS from inside Mosul.

Jabbouri revealed that she received information from Mosul saying that many of the families of ISIS’ members are trying to escape the city.

Similarly, MP Saladin Meshaan al-Jubouri told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the case of displaced citizens on the borders needs joint efforts to be solved. He added that it is not easy to carefully investigate and probe all the citizens that left ISIS control.

Jubbouri said he asked President of Kurdistan region Masoud Barazani to personally interfere to solve this problem and that he indeed responded to his request. He added that due to the cooperation, two groups of civilians were provided with all needed requirements and were allowed to enter.

MP Jubouri confirmed that Joint Operation leadership and Tribal Mobilization Forces are cooperating on issuing lists with names of civilians to be inspected by the authorities prior to moving them to safe locations.