The United Nations (UN) says it will take over management of a camp in north-eastern Syria holding thousands of people with alleged links to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). It comes after Kurdish-led forces that had been running the camp withdrew in the face of an advance by Syrian government forces, triggering unrest that forced aid agencies to suspend operations. Residents were reported to have rushed camp perimeters in an apparent attempt to escape, prompting unrest and looting. A ceasefire agreement has brought much of Syria's north-east under the control of Damascus, ending years of autonomous Kurdish rule.
Briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday, UN official Edem Wosornu stated that the UN refugee agency UNHCR had taken over camp management responsibilities at al-Hol and was working with Syrian authorities to restore humanitarian access. Syrian forces have established a security perimeter around the camp.
However, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric cautioned that conditions inside remain tense and volatile, with humanitarian operations still suspended following the violence. Meanwhile, the US has launched a parallel effort to remove high-risk detainees from the region altogether. US Central Command reported that it had begun transferring up to 7,000 suspected IS fighters from prisons in northeast Syria to Iraq, with 150 detainees already moved to a secure location across the border.
Iraqi authorities have indicated that all transferred detainees will be prosecuted under Iraqi law. The deputy UN ambassador for Iraq emphasized that this measure aims to protect regional and international security from an imminent threat, but stressed that it should not be a long-term strategic burden on Iraq alone. The Syrian government has expressed its readiness to support the US operation for transferring IS detainees out of Syrian territory. However, rights groups have raised concerns over potential abuses that the transferred detainees may face.
The Reprieve charity mentioned that around ten British men could be among the transferred, along with juvenile detainees. They urged the UK government to intervene urgently, as 55 to 60 British nationals, mostly children, remain detained in the region. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), along with the US and UN, have long called for the repatriation of foreign IS suspects and their families from north-eastern Syria, given the political instability and dire conditions in the prisons and camps, but many countries have hesitated to accept them.
Briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday, UN official Edem Wosornu stated that the UN refugee agency UNHCR had taken over camp management responsibilities at al-Hol and was working with Syrian authorities to restore humanitarian access. Syrian forces have established a security perimeter around the camp.
However, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric cautioned that conditions inside remain tense and volatile, with humanitarian operations still suspended following the violence. Meanwhile, the US has launched a parallel effort to remove high-risk detainees from the region altogether. US Central Command reported that it had begun transferring up to 7,000 suspected IS fighters from prisons in northeast Syria to Iraq, with 150 detainees already moved to a secure location across the border.
Iraqi authorities have indicated that all transferred detainees will be prosecuted under Iraqi law. The deputy UN ambassador for Iraq emphasized that this measure aims to protect regional and international security from an imminent threat, but stressed that it should not be a long-term strategic burden on Iraq alone. The Syrian government has expressed its readiness to support the US operation for transferring IS detainees out of Syrian territory. However, rights groups have raised concerns over potential abuses that the transferred detainees may face.
The Reprieve charity mentioned that around ten British men could be among the transferred, along with juvenile detainees. They urged the UK government to intervene urgently, as 55 to 60 British nationals, mostly children, remain detained in the region. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), along with the US and UN, have long called for the repatriation of foreign IS suspects and their families from north-eastern Syria, given the political instability and dire conditions in the prisons and camps, but many countries have hesitated to accept them.
