Noureddine al-Baba, spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, revealed that forces discovered numerous mass escapes at the al-Hol detention camp in northeastern Syria due to a complete breakdown in security.
Al-Hol, the largest detention camp for relatives of Islamic State (IS) fighters, was previously managed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). However, the Syrian army forced the SDF out of northern areas of the country last month.
Under pressure from government forces, the SDF withdrew from al-Hol camp on 20/1, and Syrian security forces took over the facility a few hours later.
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Prisoners gathered at al-Hol camp after Syrian authorities took control of the facility from the SDF on 21/1. Photo: Reuters |
Prisoners gathered at al-Hol camp after Syrian authorities took control of the facility from the SDF on 21/1. Photo: Reuters
Mr. al-Baba noted that the SDF's withdrawal was abrupt, uncoordinated, and lacked prior notification to either the Syrian government or the international anti-IS coalition. He added that chaos at al-Hol camp erupted immediately after the Kurdish forces departed.
The forces taking over the camp discovered "over 138 holes" in the 17 km perimeter wall, which were used for escapes. Thousands of women and children fled al-Hol, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
According to the Syrian Ministry of Interior spokesperson, al-Hol housed approximately 23,500 people, primarily Syrian and Iraqi citizens. Over 6,500 foreign nationals from 44 countries had resided in a high-security section of the camp. Last week, Syrian authorities relocated the remaining families from al-Hol to another site in northern Syria.
IS emerged and seized control of vast territories in Syria and Iraq in 2014, perpetrating numerous massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.
With support from US-backed forces, Iraq declared the defeat of IS in 2017, and the SDF ultimately pushed back the group in Syria by 2019. Following this, the SDF captured thousands of IS fighters and detained tens of thousands of their relatives in camps such as al-Hol.
Vu Hoang (According to AFP)
