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2026-02-24 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
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Syria closes al-Hol camp after relocating thousands of ISIS-linked families
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[Rudaw] Syrian authorities have closed the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) after transferring all of its residents, ending years of controversy surrounding the facility that housed families and relatives of suspected Islamic State
 ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) fighters.
"All Syrian and non-Syrian families were relocated," Fadi al-Qassem, the government-appointed official overseeing the camp, told Agence La Belle France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday. He added that security forces were combing through tents to ensure no one remained. "The camp’s residents are children and women who need support for their reintegration," he said.
The camp, situated in the desert of northeastern Hasake province, had been the largest site in Syria for families linked to suspected ISIS members. It was previously managed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but control shifted to Damascus last month as government forces attacked areas under the SDF control.
The camp held about 24,000 people, the majority Syrians and Iraqis, along with more than 6,000 foreign nationals from around 40 countries. Over the years, the camp drew international criticism over deteriorating humanitarian conditions and fears that it had become a breeding ground for extremism.
In January, amid festivities between Syrian government forces and the SDF in the area, Kurdish forces withdrew from the camp.
Upon withdrawal, the SDF said that "due to the international indifference toward the issue of the ISIS terrorist organization and the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter, our forces were compelled to withdraw from al-Hol Camp."
Authorities began evacuating remaining residents earlier this week, transferring many to a camp in Akhtarin in northern Aleppo province, while others were moved to undisclosed locations, according to AFP.
A source from a humanitarian organization that had operated inside the camp told AFP: "We evacuated all our teams working inside the camp, dismantled all our equipment and prefabricated rooms and moved them out of the camp".
Despite the relocation of al-Hol camp residents, the mid-January attacks by the Syrian army and allied gangs on the SDF triggered ISIS prison breaks, prompting the transfer of over 5,700 prisoners to Iraq under the US military supervision.
On Sunday, Iraq’s National Security Advisory said that ISIS detainees transferred from Syria will not remain in the country permanently, stressing that Baghdad is working to return them to their home countries.
"The presence of ISIS prisoners in Iraq is not permanent, and the government is working to return them to their countries," Saeed al-Jiyashi, Strategic Affairs Advisor at the National Security Advisory, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA). He added that those transferred belong to more than 67 countries.
The Iraqi official stressed that the operation was completed without error and under strict oversight. "Iraq took all necessary security measures with the participation of all security agencies, as well as oversight from the Supreme Judicial Council," he said.
The advisor noted that Iraq had warned for years that instability in Syrian detention facilities posed a threat to Iraqi security. Housing the detainees inside Iraq under the control of Iraqi security forces and the judiciary, he said, was preferable to leaving them in what he described as an "open and unstable environment" that could lead to future festivities.
Baghdad continues to call on foreign governments to repatriate their nationals detained over ISIS links, warning that prolonged uncertainty over their fate remains a regional security challenge.
Roj camp to be closed soon: Kurdish official
[Rudaw] Roj camp, which houses families of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, will be fully closed in the near future, a northeast Syria (Rojava) official said on Saturday.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises refugee and IDP camps in Rojava, told Rudaw that a joint decision has been made with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to empty the camp.
“For this purpose, coordination has taken place with the High Commissioner for Refugees regarding their transfer,” Ahmed said, adding that Syrian families will be returned to their original areas at the request of Hasaka governor and their relatives.
Roj camp remains under the control of the Autonomous Administration and is guarded by Asayish security forces. Ahmed stressed that the area around the camp is stable and free of ISIS cells, and that aid organizations continue to provide services on a daily basis.
The camp currently houses 730 foreign families from around 42 countries. In addition, 15 Iraqi families and 11 Syrian families remain at the site. In total, approximately 2,225 people live in the camp, according to the Kurdish official.
Ahmed noted that repatriation efforts will now be conducted through direct coordination between the Autonomous Administration and the countries concerned.
“Previously, contacts were conducted through the [US-led] global coalition and the SDF’s foreign relations office,” he said. “Now, any country wishing to repatriate its citizens must directly contact the Autonomous Administration, and we are ready to provide all necessary facilitation.”
Roj camp is located in Hasaka province and is one of the last remaining facilities housing families linked to ISIS in Syria.
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Posted by trailing wife 2026-02-24 2026-02-24 04:11||
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