Interim Govt. factions smuggle out most ISIS families from al-Hol Camp

Sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that most families of ISIS mercenaries holding foreign nationalities have left al-Hol camp in the eastern countryside of al-Hasakah, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had been administering the camp, in late January. The withdrawal came amid attacks by factions affiliated with the Interim Government on the regions of Rojava and North and East Syria.

According to sources cited by the agency, “The section designated for foreigners has become almost empty, with only around 20 families remaining, after it previously housed thousands of women and children of various nationalities, including Russia and countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia.” The sources added that “a large number of them were smuggled to Idlib and other areas.”

The camp had housed approximately 24,000 people, including around 15,000 Syrians and more than 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities, while most of their home countries have refused to repatriate them.

Video recordings and field testimonies showed nearly deserted streets in some sections of the camp, amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the fate of hundreds of families who had been residing there.

More than two weeks ago, al-Hol camp and its surrounding areas in the countryside of al-Hasakah witnessed widespread tension under a fragile security situation following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces, coinciding with repeated operations to smuggle ISIS/Daesh families out of the camp. Circulating video footage showed scenes of smuggling operations, amid gunfire by Interim Government factions around the camp, allegedly intended to provide cover for these operations.

A former ISIS militant who escaped from the “Chinese Comb” prison in al-Shaddadi, in the countryside of al-Hasakah, told the French newspaper Le Monde that “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” stormed the prison cells on 18 January and released him.

ANHA