ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian authorities have closed the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) after transferring all of its residents, ending years of controversy surrounding the facility that housed families and relatives of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
“All Syrian and non-Syrian families were relocated,” Fadi al-Qassem, the government-appointed official overseeing the camp, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday. He added that security forces were combing through tents to ensure no one remained. “The camp’s residents are children and women who need support for their reintegration,” he said.
The camp, situated in the desert of northeastern Hasake province, had been the largest site in Syria for families linked to suspected ISIS members. It was previously managed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but control shifted to Damascus last month as government forces attacked areas under the SDF control.
The camp held about 24,000 people, the majority Syrians and Iraqis, along with more than 6,000 foreign nationals from around 40 countries. Over the years, the camp drew international criticism over deteriorating humanitarian conditions and fears that it had become a breeding ground for extremism.
In January, amid clashes between Syrian government forces and the SDF in the area, Kurdish forces withdrew from the camp.
Upon withdrawal, the SDF said that “due to the international indifference toward the issue of the ISIS terrorist organization and the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter, our forces were compelled to withdraw from Al-Hol Camp.”
Authorities began evacuating remaining residents earlier this week, transferring many to a camp in Akhtarin in northern Aleppo province, while others were moved to undisclosed locations, according to AFP.