The Syrian army on Wednesday entered the huge al-Hol detention camp housing relatives of suspected ISIS extremists, from which Kurdish forces withdrew a day earlier, an AFP reporter from the scene reported.
The correspondent saw a large number of soldiers opening the metal doors of the camp and entering, while others were guarding the entrance.
Al-Hol, located in the desert region of Hasakeho province, holds about 24,000 people, including 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children of 42 nationalities.
Kurdish forces announced on Tuesday that they were “forced to withdraw” from the camp to defend towns in northern Syria threatened by the army, before a ceasefire was declared.
The camp is the largest for suspected extremists established by Kurdish forces, which led the fight against ISIS with the help of an international coalition over the past decade before ISIS was defeated in Syria in 2019.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that it was ready to take responsibility for the al-Hol camp “and all ISIS prisoners”.
The announcement came after US Syria mediator Tom Barrack said the Kurdish forces’ “original purpose” as the primary anti-ISIS force had “largely expired”.
On Monday, the Syrian army deployed across large parts of northern and northeastern Syria from which Kurdish forces had withdrawn. The agreement between the two parties stipulates that the Syrian state becomes responsible for ISIS prisoners and that the Kurdish administration is integrated into Syrian state institutions.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior has announced that it is taking the necessary measures to maintain the security of al-Hol.
Thousands of ex-ISIS members, including many Westerners, are being held in seven prisons, while tens of thousands of their family members live in two camps established by Kurdish forces in northern Syria, al-Hol and al-Roj.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
