The United States launched Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in 2014 to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and to set the conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability. The strategy to defeat ISIS includes military operations, as well as support for local security forces, diplomacy, governance, humanitarian assistance, and stabilization programs. This report marks the 26th quarterly report on OIR and covers the period of April 1, 2021-June 30, 2021.
During the quarter, the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration safely repatriated 93 Iraqi families (381 individuals) from the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria to Iraq. The voluntarily repatriated families were taken to the Jed’dah 1 IDP camp in Ninewa province near Mosul, which is administered by the IOM under the auspices of the ministry. The 381 returnees, including 233 children, were from a group of approximately 6,800 Iraqis who were living in al-Hol prior to the fall of Baghuz in 2019.
In Syria, the last UN sponsored border-crossing was narrowly reauthorized by the UNSC. The Bab al-Hawa border-crossing in Northwest Syria handles the entirety of land based humanitarian aid into non-regime held regions. USAID previously identified that a major deterioration of humanitarian assistance would occur if the Bab al-Hawa would become unauthorized. Currently the authorization will last until July 10, 2022.