Overview

• Speaking at a UN conference on Sept. 26, Adm. Brad Cooper said the new cell will coordinate faster returns for nearly 29,000 people at al-Hol and al-Roj and for detainees in nearby prisons holding about 9,000 ISIS fighters.
• UN officials report that more than 30,000 people remain in northeast Syria camps, mostly women and with about 60% children, including roughly 8,500 foreign nationals from over 62 countries.
• Iraq has led by repatriating over 17,000 citizens through integrated security, legal and humanitarian measures and urged partners to empty the camps by year’s end.
• Officials warn the camps have become breeding grounds for radicalization, and detention risks persist following the 2022 Hasakah prison break and ongoing U.S. force reductions in Syria.
• The UN cites a political opening from Syria’s transition and a March SDF–Damascus accord, while Cooper’s early-September visits to al-Hol and to President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus signal intensified coordination.