Thousands feared fled after breakout at Syria camp holding ISIS-linked families

A large-scale escape occurred last month at Syria’s al-Hol camp, which houses families associated with the Islamic State, following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, Syrian state television reported. The development comes amid claims that thousands of individuals may have fled the facility.

Nureddin Baba, spokesperson for Syria’s Interior Ministry, said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pulled out of the camp without coordinating with either the Syrian government or the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

The SDF dismissed the ministry’s remarks as “misleading,” accusing authorities in Damascus of attempting to shift blame. The Kurdish-led group alleged that factions aligned with the Syrian government entered the camp and removed relatives of ISIS members.

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“In the face of this deliberate escalation, and amid suspicious international silence, our forces were forced to withdraw in order to avoid turning the camp into an open battlefield,” the SDF said.

“Our forces’ withdrawal came as a direct result of the military attack and mobilisation by Damascus targeting the camp and its surroundings,” the statement added.

Security risks, breaches

Earlier this year, in January, the SDF said it had withdrawn from al-Hol because of what it described as “international indifference” toward ISIS and “the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter.”

Baba stated that Syrian authorities had “identified more than 100 breaches in the camp’s perimeter wall, which facilitated smuggling operations,” and noted that the exact number of escapees still needs to be confirmed.

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An internal memorandum circulated among European Union member states warned of potential security risks, raising the possibility that thousands of camp residents, potentially a majority, had escaped, according to Reuters.

How many escaped?

The Wall Street Journal, citing US intelligence agencies, reported that between 15,000 and 20,000 individuals, including ISIS affiliates, are now unaccounted for in Syria following the breakout. The United Nations estimates that more than 30,000 people have been living in the al-Hol camp.

The incident has intensified concerns about the status of thousands of ISIS prisoners and their families in northeastern Syria. Those concerns grew after Syrian government forces captured significant areas previously controlled by Kurdish forces that had overseen detention facilities.

At the same time, detainees were reported to have escaped from al-Shaddadi Prison, which the SDF said was holding “thousands” of ISIS prisoners.