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Women and children at al-Hol camp on June 10, 2020. Photo: ANHA
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria began officially registering thousands of wives and children of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) fighters at al-Hol camp on Wednesday in a bid to boost security and “improve living conditions” in the camp.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) said on Wednesday that its Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and local security forces, in partnership with the Global Coalition against ISIS, “will be undertaking the process of collecting and registering data of the foreign wives of ISIS members in al-Hol camp.”
“This measure is taken to preserve security and prevent terrorist acts in our region and around the world,” the NES said.
It added that the process will “help improve the living and humanitarian conditions inside al-Hol camp, as well as facilitate coordination with the countries whose nationals reside in the camp and urge them to assume their responsibilities towards their citizens.”
Located in Hasaka province, al-Hol is home to 10,000 ISIS-related foreign nationals - most of whom were arrested during the liberation of the last ISIS bastion of Baghouz in March 2019. Most of the camp residents are women and children.
It is also home to 60,000 Iraqis and Syrians, half of whom are said to be links to the terror group, according to data published by Rojava Information Center.
The NES and the US officials have called on the international community to repatriate their nationals or help facilitate trials of suspected ISIS members in northeast Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava. However, only a few countries have responded positively.
NES-affiliated Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported that the registration process is in conjunction with the second stage of an anti-terror military operation on the Syria-Iraq border, launched by the SDF on Thursday. The operation’s first stage ended on Wednesday and resulted in the arrest of 110 alleged members of ISIS by the SDF, according to a statement from the force.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees all displacement camps in Rojava, told Rudaw English late Wednesday that they aim to end the “chaos” created by ISIS women in the camp, referring to escape attempts, arson, attempted murder and attacks on camp officials.
He also said that some of the camp residents have refused to reveal their real identities,even to international organizations.
Zilan Nebo, an official responsible for the registration told ANHA that authorities are fingerprinting and photographing the women, as well as taking iris scans and DNA tests.
“Our aim is to make the international community hear us and realize that their nationals are in our camps so that they help us logistically and in other terms,” she added.
The process is expected to be completed within two to three days, according to Ahmed.
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