US helps Tanzania repatriate nationals from camp in northeast Syria

Tanzania repatriated a woman and three children from the Roj displaced persons camp in northeast Syria on Aug. 11 with US assistance, the State Department announced Wednesday.

"Approximately 14,500 individuals from more than 70 countries outside Syria remain in the al-Hol and Roj camps, most of whom are children under the age of 12," it said in a statement.

The two displaced persons camps in Syria's Al-Hasakah province, run by the YPG/PKK-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), accommodate families of ISIS (Daesh) terrorists who fled eastern Deir ez-Zor province due to fighting. The UN and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about conditions in the facilities.

The department stressed that the "only durable solution" to the humanitarian and security crisis in the camps is for countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate and, where appropriate, prosecute their nationals.

"Repatriation will also reduce the risk of an ISIS resurgence in the region and help ensure a stable future for Syria," it said, thanking Tanzania for working on the repatriation.