A Syrian government delegation visited a notorious camp in the Kurdish-administered northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State group jihadists, the new authorities' first visit, both sides said Saturday.
Kurdish-run camps and prisons in the northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to the Islamic State group, more than five years after IS's territorial defeat in Syria.
Kurdish administration official Sheikhmous Ahmed said, "a tripartite meeting was held on Saturday in the Al-Hol camp" that included a government delegation, another from the US-led international coalition fighting IS, and Kurdish administration members.
Al-Hol is northeast Syria's largest camp, housing some 37,000 people from dozens of countries, including 14,500 Iraqis, in dire conditions.
Discussions involved "establishing a mechanism for removing Syrian families from Al-Hol camp," Ahmed said.
The visit comes more than two months after interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, agreed to integrate the Kurds' civil and military institutions into the national government.
The deal also involved guaranteeing the return of all Syrians to their home towns and villages.
No progress has yet been reported on the administration's integration into the new government, led since December by Islamist authorities after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
In Damascus, interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told reporters Al-Hol is "part of the agreement" signed by Sharaa and Abdi.
He said the issue requires "a comprehensive societal solution for the families who are victims" of IS.
In February, the Kurdish administration said that in coordination with the United Nations, it aimed to empty camps in the northeast of thousands of displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees, including suspected relatives of jihadists, by the end of the year.
Al-Hol includes a high-security section for families of foreign IS fighters.
Ahmed said the fate of those families "is linked to the countries that have nationals (in the camp) and to the international coalition," which supported Kurdish-led forces who fought IS, detaining its fighters and their relatives.
The Kurds have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens, but foreign governments have allowed home only a trickle, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash.
It is unclear who will administer prisons holding thousands of IS fighters in the northeast, with Abdi saying in February the new authorities wanted them under Damascus's control.
AFP
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