Most families of foreign fighters said to have left ISIS-linked camp in Syria

Most foreign families have left northeast Syria’s Al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of fighters for the Islamic State jihadist group, since the departure of Kurdish forces who previously guarded it, humanitarian sources tell AFP.

Located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, Al-Hol is Syria’s largest camp for suspected ISIS relatives and was home to some 24,000 people, mostly women and children, including some 15,000 Syrians, several thousand Iraqis and more than 6,000 other foreigners from around 40 nationalities.

Last month, the Syrian government took over the camp from the Kurdish administration that had long handled it, as the Kurds ceded territory and Damascus extended its control across formerly Kurdish-held areas of Syria’s north and east.

A source from a humanitarian organization, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “since last Saturday… there are no more than 20 families in the foreigners’ annex.”

Women and children, including many from Russia, the Caucasus and the Central Asian republics had lived in the high-security section of the camp separate from Syrians and Iraqis.

A second source from another humanitarian organization, also requesting anonymity, said the foreigners’ annex was basically empty, with some foreign women moved to the main camp.

A source from Syria’s foreign ministry told AFP that authorities were carrying out a census of the camp, without confirming if anyone escaped, adding that if they had, it was the fault of “the [Kurdish] SDF which withdrew from the site” without properly handing it over. The Kurdish force said on January 20 that it had been forced to withdraw from Al-Hol.