Kurdish forces free another Yazidi woman from al-Hol

Julian Bechocha

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) rescued a second Yazidi woman from the clutches of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava), the force reported Tuesday amid an ongoing anti-ISIS operation in the camp.

The woman was kidnapped from the Yazidi heartland of Shingal when ISIS swept across northern Iraq in 2014, inflicting countless atrocities on the minority group, according to the Kurdish forces.

She is the second Yazidi woman to be rescued from al-Hol since the start of the month.

Earlier in September, the YPJ freed a Yazidi woman from the notorious al-Hol camp. She described the horrors she and her deaf sister experienced through their horrific cross-border journey in slave markets from Iraq into Syria in ISIS captivity to an SDF-affiliated outlet.

ISIS launched a brazen offensive on the Yazidi heartland of Shingal during their conquest of parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, committing countless atrocities including genocide against the ethnoreligious group. More than 6 thousand Yazidis were kidnapped by the terror group with thousands still remaining missing.

The majority of captives are held in al-Hol camp, according to data obtained by Rudaw English from Khayri Bozani, former head of the Yazidi affairs at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) endowment ministry.

The rescue of the two women comes amid an ongoing security operation in the camp targeting ISIS cells that was launched in late August by the Kurdish internal security forces (Asayish) in cooperation with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led coalition.

The operation has led to the arrests of over 200 ISIS suspects so far, including 32 women, according to data sent to Rudaw English by the Rojava Information Center (RIC) on Sunday. 

Al-Hol camp is located in Hasaka province and has infamously been branded a breeding ground for ISIS, with authorities describing the sprawling facility as a “ticking time bomb,” saying the situation in the camp is “very dangerous.”

A video posted by SDF spokesperson Aram Hanna on Tuesday depicts children with suspected ties to ISIS in al-Hol camp portraying gestures of beheading and throwing rocks towards a cameraman as he records the camp.

Kurdish, Iraqi, and international officials have repeatedly warned of ISIS indoctrination in the squalid camp.

“The situation needs more efforts made with real and international solidarity that supports our efforts [to defeat ISIS],” Hanna said.