The UN confirms a mass exodus from the facility holding IS-linked families, as Damascus prepares to relocate remaining residents to Aleppo and thousands of militants are transferred to Iraq.
DAMASCUS – The population of the infamous Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria has dropped dramatically in recent weeks, according to the UN, as the new Syrian government moves to shutter the facility and relocate the remaining families of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants.
The development follows the capture of the camp by Syrian government forces on January 21, ending a decade of control by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The offensive, part of a wider weekslong campaign, has fundamentally altered the administration of the sprawling detention center near the Iraqi border.
Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR representative in Syria, confirmed on Sunday that the agency has observed a “significant decrease” in the camp’s population. He stated that Syrian authorities have informed the UN of their plan to transfer the remaining families to the Akhtarin camp in Aleppo Governorate.
“Syrian authorities have informed UNHCR of their plan to relocate the remaining families to Akhtarin camp in Aleppo Governorate… and have requested UNHCR’s support to assist the population in the new camp, which we stand ready to provide,” Vargas Llosa said in a statement.
The UN agency did not specify the current number of residents or the exact mechanics of their departure. However, it is believed that many families fled during the chaos of the recent offensive or in the immediate aftermath of the government takeover. At its peak in 2019 following the territorial defeat of IS, Al-Hol held approximately 73,000 people, mostly women and children linked to the militant group.
Militants Transferred to Iraq
In a parallel and significant development, the US military confirmed on Friday that it has completed the transfer of more than 5,700 adult male IS suspects from detention centers in northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody. Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation stated that the suspects, hailing from 61 countries—the majority being Syrian and Iraqi nationals—are now being interrogated in Iraq to stand trial.
The closure of Al-Hol and the mass transfer of militants represent a major shift in the post-conflict landscape of Syria, potentially resolving a long-standing humanitarian and security quagmire but also raising new questions about the future of thousands of women and children still associated with the terror group.
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