The camp in northeastern Syria shelters around 75,000 people, many of whom fled the last ISIS holdout of Baghouz in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor when it fell to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in March 2019. Among them are thousands of wives and children of ISIS fighters from Syria, Iraq, and western countries. More than two-thirds of the detainees in al-Hol camp are children.
Those being removed from the camp on Sunday are mostly from the town of al-Boukamal, close to the border with Iraq. Others are from Baghouz itself, while some are from Homs, Raqqa, and al-Sukhna.
This is the second batch of families to be evacuated from al-Hol in the past 10 days, and the ninth batch since the campaign by the SDF to return from the camp to their hometowns began, according to Hawar News. Evacuations of families from the camp will be continuing, according to Mohammed Ali, the head of evacuations at al-Hol.
Evacuations from the camp are being implemented after Deir ez-Zor residents started an initiative to evacuate the families living in its “harsh conditions,” according to local media outlet DeirEzzor24.
Human Rights Watch reported “dire” camp conditions in October 2019. Close to 340 children have died at the camp due to diseases such as diarrhea and malnutrition, according to the International Rescue Committee.
Sunday’s evacuation comes amid the shifting strategic landscape in Syria’s northeast after the Turkish invasion of northern Syria in October.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, coupled with Turkey’s attack on northern Syria, has led to fears ISIS may regroup. However, the SDF said on Monday that they and the Coalition re-deployed forces to Hasaka, Qamishli, Derik (al-Malikiya) and Deir ez-Zor.
The invasion by Ankara, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, has drawn SDF attention away from counter-ISIS operations and security. In October, hundreds of detainees escaped from Ain Issa, another camp holding ISIS fighters and their family members – though the SDF says it has been able to recapture most of them.
The Kurdish-led SDF that run al-Hol have since aligned themselves with the Syrian government, after they were effectively abandoned by the US after years of fighting ISIS together. Since the SDF’s deal with Damascus, many al-Hol camp residents fear being transported to notoriously brutal Assad regime prisons.
At least 11,000 of al-Hol’s residents are foreign nationals. Their repatriation from Syria and Iraq has sparked intense debate in Europe and beyond, particularly in cases involving children.
European countries, fearful their radicalized citizens could pose a security risk if they are permitted to return, have in many cases refused to take them back. However, France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark are some of the several countries who have taken back children born to ISIS-affiliated parents.
