Poor security at Syria IS-linked camp preventing UN from entering

By AFP 23 January 2026, 10:50 am Edit

Children gather outside their tents, at al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the Islamic State group, in Hasakeh province, Syria, May 1, 2021 (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Poor security conditions at a camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of suspected relatives of Islamic State group fighters, including foreigners, have prevented the UN refugee agency from entering, a spokesperson tells AFP.

“UNHCR was able to reach Al-Hol for the past three days but has not yet been able to enter the camp due to the volatile security situation,” the refugee agency’s spokesperson in Syria, Celine Schmitt, says.