Syria Reports Mass Escapes From Al-Hol Camp

A Syrian government official has confirmed that “mass escapes” took place last month at Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, which houses relatives of suspected ISIL (ISIS) fighters. The incident followed the withdrawal of Kurdish-led forces that had previously overseen the facility.

Noureddine al-Baba, spokesperson for Syria’s Ministry of Interior, told reporters in Damascus that security forces discovered extensive damage after taking control of the camp. “When our forces arrived, they found cases of collective escapes due to the camp having been opened up in a haphazard manner,” he said. He added, “We observed cases of mass escape resulting from the opening of internal berms and checkpoints of the camp,” noting that authorities identified more than 138 breaches along the camp’s 17-kilometre perimeter wall.

Located in Hasakah province near the Iraqi border, Al-Hol was the largest detention site for relatives of suspected ISIL fighters in northeastern Syria. Before the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew, the group said more than 23,000 people were being held there. Most residents primarily women, children and the elderly were not formally charged with crimes but had been confined in the heavily guarded camp for years.

The SDF pulled out of the camp on January 20 amid escalating clashes with Syrian government forces over the integration of Kurdish units into state institutions. Syrian security forces assumed control hours later. Al-Baba said the SDF left “without coordination and without informing” Syrian authorities or the international coalition, creating what he described as a “chaotic situation.”

It remains unclear how many individuals escaped. Syrian officials have questioned the SDF’s figure of 23,000 residents, claiming the number was inflated to attract greater international assistance. According to the government, many escapees have been recaptured and relocated to Akhtarin camp in Aleppo province, where authorities say humanitarian access, education and rehabilitation services are more accessible.

However, discrepancies remain. Reports indicate that while around 1,100 families are confirmed at the new location, thousands of others remain unaccounted for. Some are believed to have dispersed across rural areas of Aleppo and Idlib, with reports suggesting that certain individuals were aided by local networks or removed by foreign fighters. The uncertainty surrounding their whereabouts has raised dual concerns: potential security risks if linked to ISIL, and the safety of vulnerable women and children taken from the camp.

In response, the SDF said “the withdrawal of our forces was a direct result of the military attack … targeting the camp and its surroundings by forces affiliated with Damascus.” It further claimed that the release of ISIL families “occurred after the entry of Damascus-affiliated factions (into the camp) and involved their direct participation.”

The clashes between Syrian forces and the SDF subsided following a ceasefire agreement last month. Prior to the withdrawal, the U.S. military reported transferring more than 5,700 detained ISIL suspects from Syrian prisons to Iraq.

ISIL once controlled vast areas of Syria and Iraq after its 2014 offensive, carrying out widespread atrocities. The group was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 after sustained campaigns by local forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition. Since then, the population at Al-Hol has significantly declined from a peak of about 73,000, partly due to repatriation efforts by foreign governments.

Al-Baba said Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now engaging with countries whose nationals were held at the camp to determine their future status.