Shafaq News- Damascus
The United Nations has assumed responsibility for managing major detention camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of women and children linked to ISIS, following the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, UN officials told Reuters.
According to the UN, more than 10,000 ISIS fighters, along with tens of thousands of associated women and children, have for years been held in around a dozen prisons and camps previously guarded by the SDF.
On Tuesday, the SDF withdrew from Al-Hol camp, as well as the smaller Roj camp. Together, the two sites shelter around 28,000 civilians, mostly women and children who fled ISIS-controlled areas after the group’s territorial defeat. UN figures show the population includes Syrian and Iraqi nationals, alongside about 8,500 people from other countries.
Following the withdrawal, Syrian government forces imposed a security cordon around Al-Hol, while teams from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF reached the camp on Wednesday.
Briefing the UN Security Council, senior UN humanitarian official Edem Wosornu said UNHCR, now overseeing camp management, is coordinating with the Syrian government to urgently resume life-saving assistance in a safe and orderly manner. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said full access to the camp remains limited due to ongoing instability, citing reports of looting and arson, but added that Syrian authorities have expressed readiness to provide security and logistical support for aid agencies.
The developments come amid broader shifts in control over ISIS detention facilities. Earlier on Wednesday, the SDF began evacuating Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqqa countryside ahead of a handover to the Syrian government following days of a government-imposed siege. On Monday, the SDF said it lost control of Al-Shaddadi prison in Hasakah after repeated attacks by government-affiliated factions.
A US official told Reuters that around 200 low-ranking ISIS detainees escaped during the unrest, although Syrian forces later recaptured a significant number of them.
Meanwhile, the US military confirmed this week that it transferred 150 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq as part of an operation that could eventually involve relocating up to 7,000 detainees.
The changes follow a political agreement signed on January 18 by Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, and the SDF, under which Syrian state institutions would assume administrative authority over Hasakah, Deir Ez-Zor, and Raqqa provinces, after renewed clashes between government forces and the SDF in areas hosting key ISIS camps and detention facilities.