ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is concerned about the condition of “tens” of its nationals linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) who were residing in al-Hol camp in Hasaka province in northeast Syria (Rojava), a migration ministry official told Rudaw. This comes after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced they had withdrawn their forces from the camp following an offensive by Damascus-affiliated factions.
Ali Jahangir, spokesperson for the Iraqi migration ministry, said that “the number of Iraqis who remain in the al-Hol camp, ahead of the SDF’s withdrawal, is estimated to be in the dozens.” He added that Baghdad has “no exact count of Iraqis currently in al-Hol, but the number is small.”
The statement comes after the SDF on Tuesday said "fierce clashes" with Damascus-affiliated armed groups in its vicinity.
The al-Hol camp is located southeast of Hasaka in Rojava and was previously managed by the SDF and affiliated Internal Security Forces (Asayish). It hosts tens of thousands of people, including the spouses and children of former ISIS militants.
The camp has long been notorious for dire living conditions and the presence of radicalized individuals, earning a reputation as a potential incubator for extremism. Iraqis and Syrians constitute the majority of its residents, though thousands of people from other countries who joined ISIS or lived under its rule also remain in the camp.
The migration ministry spokesperson noted that “around 22,000 Iraqis had already been evacuated and returned to Iraq, and entered rehabilitation programs before being reintegrated into society.”
The statement comes after the SDF on Tuesday announced they have withdrawn from the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka, which houses families and affiliates of Islamic State (ISIS) members, following reports they were engaging in "fierce clashes" with Damascus-affiliated armed groups in its vicinity.
The development came amid a military escalation by the Syrian army and affiliated armed groups against Kurdish forces in Rojava. It also follows an announcement by the SDF on Monday that it had lost control of al-Shaddadi prison to armed groups in Hasaka province, noting that the facility holds “thousands of ISIS militants.”
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami told Rudaw early Tuesday that around "1,500 ISIS militants - including both foreign and Syrian nationals - have been released" by Damascus-affiliated armed groups from al-Shaddadi prison, in southern Hasaka as well.
Earlier on Tuesday, an SDF source speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity had also reported that clashes with Damascus-affiliated forces had intensified for the second consecutive day around another facility which holds around 2,000 ISIS detainees - the al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa.
The Syrian government later on Tuesday announced it had reached “a mutual understanding” with the SDF on several issues concerning the future of the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province, according to Syrian state media.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the Syrian presidency as confirming that “a mutual understanding has been reached between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on a number of issues concerning the future of Hasaka province.”
"It was agreed to grant the SDF a period of four days for consultations to develop a detailed plan for the practical mechanism of integrating the areas," SANA relayed, citing the presidency as noting that "if an agreement is reached, Syrian forces will not enter the centers of [the predominantly Kurdish cities of] Hasaka and Qamishli and will remain on their outskirts."
Syrian military forces will reportedly "not enter Kurdish villages, and no armed forces will be present in those villages except for local security forces from the area in accordance with the agreement," the presidency added.
The implementation of the understanding "will begin at 8:00 pm [local time] today [Tuesday]," the statement concluded.
Mushtaq Ramadan contributed to this report from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.