US says it has shouldered burden of Syria camps for too long

13/2/2025 6:13

U.S. assistance for

managing and securing camps in northeastern Syria with Islamic

State-linked prisoners "cannot last forever," the acting U.S.

Ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Shea, told the

Security Council on Wednesday.



"The United States has shouldered too much of this burden

for too long. Ultimately, the camps cannot remain a direct U.S.

financial responsibility," she told the 15-member council,

referencing the al-Hol and Roj displaced persons camps.



"We accordingly continue to urge countries to expeditiously

repatriate their displaced and detained nationals who remain in

the region," she said.



Packed with families linked to Islamic State after the

extremist Sunni Muslim group's defeat in Syria in 2019, the

al-Hol camp has a population of around 40,000.



It is widely viewed as a breeding ground for extremism and a

security concern for regional states, particularly neighbouring

Iraq, where Islamic State at one point controlled about a third

of the country.



Camp authorities - led by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic

Forces, a Kurdish-led force that controls northeast Syria - have

long called on countries to repatriate citizens in the camp,

which hosts thousands of foreigners.



Iraq has repatriated more than 10,000, according to Iraqi

officials, but few Western states have shown interest in

following suit. Of those currently in the camp, nearly 16,000

are Syrians, camp authorities say.



"U.S. assistance has played a vital role in managing and

securing al-Hol and Roj displaced persons camps in northeast

Syria, and, critically, Syrian Democratic Forces-managed

facilities detaining thousands of ISIS fighters, but this

assistance cannot last forever," Shea said.



Her remarks come after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted in

December after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir

al-Sham swept through Syria in a lightning offensive, ending

more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule by Assad's family.



Talks facilitated by the U.S. and France are under way to

determine the SDF's future. The new Syrian ruling authorities

have said it would seek to assert control over the entire

country.



"Ongoing armed hostilities in northern Syria are also

concerning, and the United States will continue to pursue a

ceasefire that will enable our local partners to focus on

combating ISIS and maintain security of detention facilities and

displaced persons camps," Shea said.



The United States has some 2,000 troops in Syria, mostly in

the northeast.