Al-Hol, Syria. Fewer than 1,000 families remain at al-Hol camp in Syria’s northeast, its former director said, after thousands fled last month as government forces seized control of the area from Kurdish-led fighters.
Camp population falls after change of control
Al-Hol, near the Iraqi border, was one of the main detention camps for relatives of suspected Islamic State fighters detained during the U.S.-backed campaign against the jihadist group in Syria.
Control of the camp changed hands last month when government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa seized swathes of the northeast from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, including several jails holding Islamic State fighters.
Transfer plans and detainee movements
The U.S. military said last week it had completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Islamic State detainees to Iraq.
Jihan Hanna, the former director who still coordinates with international agencies and the Syrian government, told Reuters the remaining families were Syrian nationals and were being transferred to a camp in Aleppo. She said most of the camp’s foreign nationals had fled.
The Syrian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Data before takeover and UNHCR access
According to camp data obtained by Reuters dated January 19, a day before the government took control, the population was 6,639 families comprising 23,407 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, as well as 6,280 foreigners from more than 40 nationalities.
UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, said it had observed “a significant decrease in the number of residents in al-Hol camp in recent weeks,” adding that there were no confirmed figures on the remaining population. UNHCR said the camp administration advised it over the weekend not to enter the camp due to unrest and anxiety.
Government accusation against SDF
The Syrian government accused the SDF of withdrawing from al-Hol on January 20 without any coordination.
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