Iraq has invited dozens of nations to a conference in New York in September aimed at dismantling Syria's Al Hol camp for people displaced by the fight against ISIS, which lies near the border between the two countries.
Baghdad views the camp as a threat to national and regional security. The facility houses more than 50,000 people who fled ISIS-controlled areas when the extremist group was dislodged from Syrian strongholds in 2019.
The conference is expected to be held on September 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.
Titled “Leveraging multilateralism in the repatriation, trial, rehabilitation and reintegration of persons into their community”, it will be attended by dozens of countries from the Middle East and the West.
For years, Iraqi authorities have pushed for the camp's closure on security grounds. Al Hol lies in the Al Hasakeh governorate of north-eastern Syria, less than 10km from the Iraqi border. Residents are either banned from leaving the tent city, where they live in squalid conditions, or have nowhere else to go.
The facility is run by Kurdish authorities who control north-east Syria. It hosts ordinary people displaced by the fight against ISIS as well as family members of ISIS fighters. The camp is the largest anywhere for people displaced by the extremist group's loss of territory. It remains one of the biggest unresolved humanitarian issues in the Middle East.
ISIS captured nearly a third of Iraq in 2014, before local forces backed by a US-led coalition defeated them in 2017. Iraq's security situation has improved dramatically since ISIS was dislodged, but Baghdad still views the Al Hol camp as a threat.
In the last few months, it has accelerated the repatriation of Iraqis held in the camp. Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassem Al Araji has been pushing foreign governments to do the same, with a view to dismantling the camp.
In 2022, Iraq also began building a wall along its border with Syria, which stretches more than 600km, to prevent ISIS members from infiltrating its territory.
Karim Al Nouri, undersecretary for Iraq's Migration Ministry, last week said Baghdad had been co-ordinating with international groups such as the UN and the International Migration Organisation to ensure security during the return of Iraqi citizens from the camp.
“No security breaches have been reported among those returnees,” Mr Al Nouri said in a statement reported by the Iraqi News Agency.
The official said most of those repatriated from Al Hol had since gone through rehabilitation programmes at the Jadaa Rehabilitation Centre in the Iraqi city of Nineveh.
“More than 10,000 people completed awareness-raising and psychosocial rehabilitation programmes,” he said. The programmes are organised by age group, while women and children are offered psychological care as well as educational and vocational activities.
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Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
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