By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2024-05-20

After the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) was routed from the last strip of territory it controlled in Syria in 2019, al-Hol camp was transformed into a temporary holding facility for the relatives of the group's fighters.

The Kurdish-administered camp's population is largely comprised of women and children.

The majority hail from Iraq and Syria, but a significant number were brought from other countries by their spouses to join ISIS's so-called "caliphate," creating a crisis of international proportions.

The size of the camp and radicalized elements within it have created a "time bomb" for which a quick solution must be found, Kurdish internal security forces (Asayesh) official Adnan Azadi told Al-Fassel.

"Al-Hol camp is in a very dangerous situation," he said. "Despite all the security measures taken, the ideology of ISIS is still prevalent in the camp, and the brainwashing of children is still actively going on."

This presents a future danger, "be it inside or outside the camp," he said.

Reluctant repatriation

"The camp's administration is cooperating with the Iraqi authorities on an ongoing basis to continue the repatriation process," Azadi said.

In Deir Ezzor province, Syria, tribal authorities mediate and act as guarantors to secure the release of local families, he said, but camp residents released in Syria are not routed through rehabilitation centers.

Rehabilitation is critical, especially for children, he stressed.

"Many countries refuse to take back those with proven connection to the group," Azadi said, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are "unable to continue managing the camp without support and funding."

Al-Hol is massive, and many personnel are required to secure it and provide "food, medical and security-related care" to the residents, he said.

Security personnel are needed to secure the camps, both inside and outside, and monitor the activity of the group's sleeper cells, which have become "slightly more active" lately, he said.

This is an alarming trend that threatens the lives of civilians, in addition to the lives of the security forces policing the camp, he added.