Sources at humanitarian organizations and eyewitnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that most families of foreign members of the Islamic State group have left al-Hol camp in the eastern countryside of al-Hasakah (northeastern Syria), after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from it in late January and it was taken over by security forces affiliated with the Syrian government.
This followed the Syrian government taking control of the camp, as part of its wider deployment across large areas of northern and eastern Syria that had been under SDF control, before the two sides reached an agreement providing for a gradual merger of military and administrative forces in al-Hasakah governorate.
Al-Hol camp previously housed about 24,000 people, including around 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities, most of whose countries refuse to repatriate them. The camp is considered one of the most prominent humanitarian and security files in northeastern Syria.
Foreigners’ section “almost empty”
A source at a humanitarian organization said the foreigners’ section of the camp has become “almost empty” after Kurdish forces, who had been running it withdrew and Syrian security forces took over.
Another source said that “since last Saturday, there have been only 20 families left in the muhajirat section”, the area designated for foreigners. It had been heavily fortified and housed large numbers of women and children from Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
The source added that “a large portion of them were smuggled to Idlib and other governorates, and a very small number entered the sections designated for Syrians inside the camp”, without providing further details on who was responsible for getting them out.
Syrians and Iraqis are also leaving
According to the sources and witnesses, part of the camp’s residents, among Syrians, who number more than 15,000, were also emptied, along with more than 2,200 Iraqis.
A worker at a humanitarian organization inside Syria said that “many people, including foreigners, have left the camp, but there are no official statistics yet”, as counting operations continue.
It remains unclear how these departures took place, and whether they occurred through official procedures or by other means.
Authorities: no confirmation of escape cases
A source in the camp administration under Syria’s Ministry of Interior said authorities are still counting the residents, without confirming that escapes had occurred.
He said that “the cause of all this, if it exists”, referring to the possibility that residents fled the camp, “is the responsibility of the SDF, which withdrew from the site before the handover took place.”
A video seen by AFP showed nearly empty streets in the camp’s market area, which is usually crowded with residents, reflecting a noticeable decline in the number of people living there.
An eyewitness inside the camp said he saw armed men taking veiled women out after Kurdish forces withdrew and government forces took control, without the identities of the gunmen or the women’s destination being clear.
The government takes control of the camp
The Syrian government took over al-Hol camp in late January after the SDF withdrew, as part of a broader deployment of government forces in northern and eastern Syria. This was followed by an agreement between the two sides on a gradual merger of military and administrative forces in al-Hasakah governorate.
The circumstances surrounding the departure of foreign families from al-Hol camp remain unclear, amid the absence of detailed official statements and the continuation of counting operations after the camp’s administration was transferred to the Syrian government.
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