Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria is one of the most complex humanitarian crises today. What began as a temporary shelter has effectively become an open-air prison for tens of thousands of women and children, while governments in the region increasingly view it as a looming security threat.
As countries refuse to take back their citizens, living conditions remain inhumane, and an entire generation grows up on the edge of despair and radicalization. The tragedy deepens by the day amid global silence.
To shed direct light on the harsh reality inside the camp, an Enab Baladi correspondent attempted to enter al-Hol to document living conditions and hear from residents. However, the forces responsible for securing the camp’s outer perimeter barred him from entering. Despite this, the correspondent was able to observe the camp from surrounding areas and its external vicinity.
Al-Hol, location and origins
Al-Hol camp is located in the countryside of al-Hasakah Governorate (northeastern Syria), about 13 kilometers from the Iraqi border. It covers around 3.1 square kilometers and is surrounded by a security fence.
The camp was established in 1991 to house displaced Iraqis, then reopened in 2016 to accommodate families of Islamic State members after the group’s territorial collapse.
It was administered by the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria, while the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) handled security aspects. The camp also received support from the US-led International Coalition. This arrangement lasted until 21 January, when the Syrian government took control of the camp after the SDF withdrew from it abruptly.
The latest UN estimates indicate the camp holds more than 30,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children, with children making up about 60% of the population, most under the age of 12.
The camp is also home to 40 to 60 different nationalities. In addition to Syrians and Iraqis, there are around 8,500 foreign nationals from more than 60 countries.
Life on the brink
Conditions inside al-Hol camp can only be described as a violation of human dignity. Residents, especially children, endure a reality that defies even the most basic standards of survival.
Thousands are held arbitrarily in inhumane conditions without specific charges or trial, in violation of international law and human rights standards.
A Human Rights Watch report dated 7 February 2025 described the camp as the site of systematic rights violations affecting more than 56,000 detainees across the area.
The report noted severe overcrowding, deteriorating tents, shortages of safe drinking water and sanitation, and inadequate health care.
Preventable diseases have spread, including severe malnutrition, diarrhea, and scabies, leading to repeated child deaths.
For its part, a report by Amnesty International documented that detainees, including in detention facilities linked to the SDF, were subjected to torture, including severe beatings, electric shocks, and sexual violence. The camp has also witnessed internal killings.
A lost generation
Children are deprived of formal education and face an identity crisis due to the lack of official documentation for many of them, according to the Chicago Journal of International Law.
Save the Children has pointed to children’s exposure to recruitment and radicalization, warning that the camp has become a “fertile environment” for the spread of extremist ideas and a “breeding ground” for extremism. Some children are reportedly indoctrinated with a vengeful ideology toward those they believe killed their fathers.
This reality is shaping an entire generation growing up in an unhealthy environment, psychologically, physically, and intellectually, with deep scars that will be difficult to heal.
International responsibility and the return dilemma
One of the most controversial aspects of this crisis is the reluctance of many countries, especially in Europe, to repatriate their citizens, a stance that has deepened both the humanitarian and security dimensions of the problem.
Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced on 22 January, according to a statement to the Iraqi channel Rudaw, that it had received the 31st batch of returnees, bringing the total to nearly 19,000 people, while fewer than 5,000 Iraqis remain in the camp.
The ministry’s undersecretary, Karim al-Nouri, said the returns are being carried out with high-level coordination with security agencies, and that individuals who show security indicators are handed over to the Iraqi judiciary.
Iraq has shown notable commitment, repatriating many of its citizens through a comprehensive process that focuses on community reintegration. The UN Special Representative for Iraq described these steps as “courageous.”
In contrast, most other countries, particularly European states, continue to refuse, according to Human Rights Watch, citing security concerns and domestic political pressures. Since 2019, 36 countries have repatriated only about 3,365 people, including 2,200 children, while Iraq alone has brought back more than 10,000.
This refusal creates a situation of “collective punishment,” described here as a war crime, and leaves thousands effectively in a state of “statelessness,” with nowhere willing to accept them.
New developments and the Syrian government takes control
The situation has shifted dramatically in recent days, with full control of al-Hol camp moving from the SDF to the Syrian government in Damascus.
After days of clashes, Syrian army and security forces entered the camp on 21 January, in a step the new Syrian government forces described as having taken place “without any coordination.” The move created a security vacuum and an immediate humanitarian crisis inside the camp, while the SDF withdrew, saying its withdrawal was driven by “international indifference” toward the Islamic State file.
The Syrian government’s takeover of al-Hol is a real test. The file is complex, combining security challenges with an urgent humanitarian need to address the suffering of tens of thousands of women and children, many of whom are victims of circumstances beyond their control.
At the same time, a shift in the US position, saying the SDF’s role has “largely expired” and that Damascus has become “willing and able” to assume security responsibilities, suggests Syrian authorities now have a window of opportunity. They also now bear direct responsibility for the fate of the camp, often described as a “ticking social time bomb.”
A civilian detention camp, or a military prison for fighters?
Although al-Hol camp and the SDF-run prisons are often viewed as similar cases, their nature and the purpose behind their creation differ fundamentally.
Al-Hol is primarily civilian in composition. Most residents are women and children from Islamic State fighters’ families, alongside displaced Syrians and Iraqis who may have no connection to the group. Its core function has been to hold these families under a collective precautionary measure.
By contrast, prisons such as al-Shaddadi (in the southern countryside of al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria) and Ghuwayran (a neighborhood in al-Hasakah city, northeastern Syria) hold a very different category, men suspected of belonging to, or confirmed as members of, the Islamic State who were captured during battles. The objective here is purely military and security-related, isolating dangerous armed individuals and preventing their return to the battlefield.
These prisons pose a direct security threat, as any breach in guarding them could lead to the escape of hundreds of trained fighters.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it has already transferred 150 Islamic State fighters from al-Hasakah Governorate in Syria to a “secure location” in Iraq.
CENTCOM said the step aims to prevent detainees from escaping and reorganizing their ranks.
The transfer comes after a ceasefire agreement that resulted in the Damascus government taking control of large parts of northeastern Syria, following the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led SDF from key areas, including detention sites holding thousands of suspected Islamic State members and their relatives.
Al-Hol Camp, Humanitarian Suffering and a Ticking Security Time Bomb Enab Baladi.
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