SDF, an umbrella group led by the terrorist YPG, which controls northeastern Syria, announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement with the government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the Daesh terrorist group.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, an SDF official, said an agreement was reached on a "joint mechanism” for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus, and a delegation from the U.S.-led international coalition fighting Daesh. Ahmed denied reports that administration of the camp will be handed over to Damascus in the near future, saying "there was no discussion in this regard with the visiting delegation or with the Damascus government."
Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camp, which houses about 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of Daesh fighters, as well as supporters of the terrorist group. They also include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join Daesh.
The U.S. military has been pushing for years for countries that have citizens at al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp to repatriate them. Iraq has taken back increasing numbers of citizens in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant.
As for Syrians housed in the camp, a mechanism has been in place for several years to return those who want to go back to their communities in the YPG-controlled areas. Before now, however, there had not been an agreement with the government in Damascus to return them to areas under the central government’s control.
The new agreement comes amid attempts to increase the cooperation between the YPG and the new leaders in Damascus after former regime head Bashar Assad was unseated in December.
Under a deal signed in March between Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Şahin, ringleader of the YPG, the SDF is to be merged into the new government armed forces. All border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast, are to come under the central government’s control.
Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of Daesh are held are also expected to come under central government control.
The deal marked a major step toward unifying the disparate factions that had carved up Syria into de facto mini-states during its civil war that began in 2011 after the brutal crackdown by Assad's government on massive anti-government protests. However, implementation has been slow. Washington has been pushing for its enactment and, in particular, for Damascus to take over management of the prisons in northeast Syria.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last week that the YPG should follow the PKK in dissolving itself, adding that they were closely monitoring the development on that front. He also called upon the Syrian administration to concentrate on the matter of the integration of the YPG into security forces in post-Assad Syria. As the U.S.-backed terrorist group thrived during the Assad era in Syria, occupying parts of northeastern Syria, Türkiye launched cross-border offensives in Syria to help Syrian opposition forces drive out the YPG from several towns. Yet, after the fall of the Assad regime, the YPG kept clinging to their so-called autonomous zone.
The president stated that the YPG issue had multiple aspects, including the state of Daesh prisoners held by the group. Erdoğan said Türkiye had a joint committee with the U.S., Syria and Iraq to tackle the issue. "We are also following how the YPG would respond to (the PKK's dissolution). It is unclear whether they will heed the call for dissolution or remain committed to the March 8 deal with Damascus. They may want to have it both ways, too. Certainly, the PKK's decision to dissolve itself covers its Syrian wing too. The YPG is searching for a response and the upcoming days are critical in this process. Our relevant authorities monitor all armed groups' integration into the Syrian army. We are particularly monitoring the YPG," he said.
Erdoğan underlined that Damascus should remain committed to this issue, although they have "plenty of things to handle." "Iraq should also be committed to the camp issue," he said, noting that the majority of those held in al-Hol were Iraqi and Syrian nationals. "Once this issue is resolved, the YPG will lose significance and hence, their integration into the Syrian army will be easier," he said.
