UN chief urges nations to repatriate citizens from Syria camp
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the swift repatriation of foreigners held in Syria's infamous Al-Hol camp which houses relatives of jihadists.
The sprawling and overcrowded Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in northern Syria is home to more than 50,000 people, including family members of suspected Islamic State group militants as well as displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees.
Nearly half of the camp's population is under the age of 12 and residents are "deprived of their rights, vulnerable, and marginalised", Guterres said in a statement during a visit to Iraq.
"They are trapped in a desperate situation with no end in sight," he said at the Jadaa camp, which Iraqi authorities describe as a "rehabilitation" centre for those returning from Syria.
"I have no doubt to say that the worst camp that exists in today's world is Al-Hol, with the worst possible conditions for people and with enormous suffering for the people that have been stranded there for years," Guterres said.
He urged UN member states who have nationals in Al-Hol to "significantly step up their efforts to facilitate the safe and dignified repatriation of their nationals".
Kurdish authorities in Syria have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens, but foreign governments have allowed only a trickle to return home, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash.
