![A woman displays the Syrian opposition's revolutionary flag on a mobile phone screen as Syrian residents living in Barike Camp distribute sweets to citizens in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, to celebrate the collapse of the 61-year Baath regime on December 11, 2024. [Fariq Faraj Mahmood - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AA-20241211-36455318-36455304-SYRIANS_CELEBRATE_THE_COLLAPSE_OF_61YEAR_BAATH_REGIME_WITH_SWEETS_DISTRIBUTION_IN_IRAQ.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Iraq has established a camp in the Anbar desert to host hundreds of Syrian regime soldiers who entered the country last Saturday fleeing opposition factions that took over the country and toppled the regime of deposed President Bashar Al-Assad last week.
Iraqi officials described the measure as “temporary” until they contacted the new Syrian government and organised the soldiers’ repatriation to their country or to a third country if possible.
The camp is located in the desert of Al-Qaim city, near the border with Syria and close to an Iraqi army military base.
An Iraqi official, who asked not to be named, said the camp includes more than 2,100 army officers and soldiers who will not be allowed to leave the camp. Some do not want to return to Syria for fear of prosecution.
The official revealed that international bodies will coordinate between Iraq and Syria in this context, and the soldiers will remain under Iraqi security guardianship inside the camp.
Iraq does not intend to grant any of them humanitarian asylum, the source added.
Last Saturday, Iraq announced that hundreds of Syrian soldiers had entered its territories fleeing the fighting.
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